The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
by Zephyros-Phoenix
Summary: DragoxOC - Drago is seeking the seven Demon Chi of his uncles and aunts and recruits an old friend of his to the cause. Enter Mala, the half-demon offspring of a Chi Wizard and a Crystal Demon Sorceress. While Mala joins Drago's crusade, she slowly begins to accept who she is and her demon powers, but also learns that Drago is not the same boy she befriended long ago.
1. A Visit From an Old Friend

**So I recently decided to rewatch the JCA series, a cartoon I grew up on and loved! Drago has been one of my favorite characters for a long time and with him, I've got a specific interpretation of his character. Ever since I saw Drago's involvement in the show, I just haven't really seen him as a genuine villain. I like to think of Drago as a half-demon, half-human (he has 5 fingers like humans, while demons have 4 and he even looks more human than most of the other demons. In my headcanon, Drago was raised by a warm and loving human mother, but when she died, Shendu reluctantly took him in but only ever acknowledged his son when he truly behaved like a demon. Drago, desperate for his father's love and attention (as the only parent he had left) conformed to Shendu's views and became who he is today. So, in summary, I don't see Drago as a villain as much as I really see him as a trouble teen struggling to find his identity by essentially being evil in order to validate himself in his father's eyes. **

**And let's face it. Anyone who knows me well enough will know that once the idea of a character pops into my mind, I cannot resist the urge to create them. I am so very weak. Anyway, this will essentially be my take on season 5 of JCA (with the main plot remaining as it is) based on my interpretation of Drago as well as throwing in my own character: half-human, half-crystal demon Mala. **

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala and other OCs.**

* * *

"Mala, dear! It's time to close up!" Mala popped up from behind the jewelry counter when she heard her boss, Patrick calling her.

"Sure thing, Patrick! I can close up myself! You don't want to be late for that date of yours!" she gleefully said, with a wink.

"Oh, you're such a sweetheart, but are you sure you can handle it?" Patrick asked, putting his hand on Mala's shoulder.

"Of course I can!"

"Wipe down the counters?"

"Yes."

"Vacuum the carpet?"

"Yes."

"Make sure all the display cases are locked?"

"Yes!"

"Set the alarm?"

"Yes, Patrick! Don't worry! I know how to close up the shop! Now get going, you!" she said, handing Patrick his trench coat while pushing him out the door.

"All right, all right, I'm going!" he replied, putting his trench coat over his fancy suit while running his fingers through his hair to even out his black locks.

"Oh stop that, your hair is fine! Go on you," she said, lightly pushing him out the door. "And don't forget to tell me how it goes!" she called.

"I will! See you tomorrow!" Patrick called back before disappearing down the street. Mala went back into the shop and set about to complete her closing routine: wiping down the counters, vacuuming the carpets, making sure all the display cases were locked before finally setting the alarm and locking the door on her way out. She made her way down the street to her apartment, stopping at a Chinese take-out restaurant on the way.

Mala turned around in a snap when she heard something moving behind her, but there was no one there. "Must have been the wind," she said to herself, shrugging her shoulders. She fumbled with her keys when she reached the front door of her apartment building and climbed up the stairs to her room on the third floor. She opened the door and kicked it shut with her foot, carrying her take-out to the kitchen. She dashed into the living room to turn on her TV, just in time to catch her favorite TV show. She leaned back just so she could see the news while opening the fridge to pour herself a glass of water, also shutting the fridge door with her foot when she was done.

"You know, as annoying as humans are, I'll admit they know how to make some good food!"

Mala dropped her glass and spun around when she heard another voice in her apartment. "Who-" She turned around and saw a dark-green scaled, humanoid dragon dressed in black and red casually sitting on her counter while leisurely eating the take-out she bought.

"Hi," he chirped playfully, "long time no see."

"D-Drago?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd-OW!" Drago fell off the counter and rubbed his head as Mala stood over him with a metal pan gripped tightly in her hands. "What was that for?" he shouted, but he was quickly silenced with another whack to the head.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" she shouted, raising the pan over her head to strike him again.

"Would you put that thing down?" Drago shouted, holding his hand up over the pan.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mala screamed.

"What the hell is wrong with **you**!" Drago shouted back, pointing his taloned finger at her.

"You're the one who broke into my apartment and ate my- Hey! I was going to eat that!" she exclaimed, accusingly pointing her finger at the empty take-out container. "Nevermind, that's not the point. What are you doing here, Drago? We haven't seen each other since we were kids! How did you even find me?"

"I told you: I was in the neighborhood."

"Doing what exactly?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Got thrown in the slammer, just broke out today," he grinned.

"Oh just great. On top of having a demon in my kitchen, I'm now harboring a fugitive! What are you doing here, Drago?" she asked, impatiently tapping her foot on the tiles of the kitchen floor.

"I need help with something and I figured an old demon friend would help," he grinned.

"Don't call me that," she muttered with a glare.

"What? You are a demon, after all."

"Half-demon, just like you and don't you forget it!"

"Unlike you, I actually like being a demon. You should be embracing the power you have! Instead you're just hiding who you really are and trying to fit in with people that will never accept you, just like your mother."

"I AM NOT LIKE MY MOTHER!" she shrieked, slamming her first on the countertop, causing everything on it around her to briefly jumping into the air and falling over when they landed.

"Now there's the real Mala," Drago said with a light chuckle. Mala looked down at her hand with her eyes wide in fear and shock. Her fingers were sharp, like talons and grayish blue. Dark blue crystal armor covered her forearm and the back of her hand while two bright pink blades stuck out over her hand.

She sharply turned around and hugged her arm to her chest, quietly whispering to herself, "Ok, just calm down. You're not a demon; you're not like her."

Drago cocked his eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion at this. "Hey, you ok?" he asked, gripping his talons over her shoulder.

Mala stopped shaking and sighed before turning around to face Drago, her hand now back to normal. "I am not like my mother, let's get that straight."

"All right, all right. You know my dad's told me about her, Lang Yan. From what I've heard, she's quite the manipulator."

"Yeah, I don't need you to tell me that," she muttered.

"You hate her."

"What was your first clue?" Mala snapped.

"You know, that pain you feel is never going to go away unless you do something about it."

"Oh, yeah and what could I possibly do about that?"

"How much do you hate her?" he asked.

"How much-How much do I hate her?" she shouted. "That demon cursed me with her Chi! She spent years manipulating us into thinking she was a loving wife and mother AND she broke my father's heart! She's the reason I can't have a normal life. I want to make her pay for what she's done to my father and me. Maybe then… maybe then I can just be normal"," she sighed, slouching over the countertop.

"Now what you're talking about is revenge, Mala. And I'd be happy to help you with that."

"Revenge?"

"I know how to access a portal to the Demon Netherworld. You won't stand a chance against Lang Yan alone, but with me there to back you up, we might just put the old hag in her place. So, whad'ya say?"

"You'd help me do that? You'd help me kill Lang Yan?" she asked, glancing in mild shock at Drago.

"You're an old friend, Mala. And as pathetic as this may sound, you're the only friend I've got. We half-demons have to stick together, right?"

"I did say that, didn't I?" she muttered, remembering when she first said that to Drago when they were children. "But I'm guessing you didn't come here just to offer that?"

"The alignment of the stars has activated the dormant Demon Chis of my aunts and uncles. Each of their Chi is contained in the Immortal item used to defeat them and I want to get them all!" he grinned.

"And what exactly do you plan on doing once you get them?"

"Surpass my old gecko of a father and become all powerful. Demons and humans get their own world, so it's high time we half-demons got our own!" he declared.

"You want to create a new world? C-can you even do that?"

"If I have all eight Demon Chis, I'll be able to. Think about it, Mala. Half-demons will never be accepted by demons or humans. They look out for their own kind, so we have to look out for our own kind."

"That's not true! I have friends who care about me: my boss, Patrick, my land lady, Mrs. Winslow-"

"But just how much do they really know about you?" Drago asked, causing Mala to cast her eyes down sadly. "That's what I thought. Think about it, Mala: a whole world just for half-demons, a world for us! A world where we don't have to hide who and what we are, a world where we aren't judged for what kind of people out parents are. Isn't that what you want?" he asked, putting his hands on her small shoulders.

"That's all I've ever wanted. But…"

"If you need some time to think about it, go ahead. I'll be back tomorrow for your answer, Mala. I've got some Wind Demon Chi to find," he said, climbing out the window of her apartment, leaving Mala with much to think about.

* * *

**Well I've never written anything for JCA and since I'm still riding on my recent rewatching of the series, I'll hopefully keep my motivation for this story up. Plus it's gonna be a rather short one too since it's only based on season 5. **

**For those not following me on dA, I'll provide a brief summary on who Mala is:**

**Mala is the daughter of a Chi Wizard named Jasper and the Crystal Demon Sorceress, Lang Yan. Lang Yan was only trying to get close to Jasper to learn his Chi Wizardy secrets, but when he discovered her true nature, she attacked and he banished her to the Demon Netherworld. Jasper was heartbroken at the deception but raised his daughter and taught her to use her power for good and to hide her true self from others. Mala had a brief friendship with Drago when they were children and they bonded over both being half-demons. Mala can control crystals (create, project, constructs, mimicry, etc.) and change into a "demon form" (since JCA established that Demons can change into a human form). She resents and hates her mother for deceiving them and breaking her father's heart as well as for cursing her with her demon powers. **

**For more info on Mala, visit my dA or wiki!**

**Cheers!**


	2. Old and New Look

**Man, the JCA hype is really getting to me. I sure hope it keeps going! **

**I do not own JCA, only Mala and other OCs.**

* * *

"Mala? Earth to Mala."

"Hm? Oh, sorry Patrick. I was just thinking," Mala replied as she noticed Patrick standing in front of her on the opposite side of the counter.

"Well it must have been something important. Here I am telling you all about my date that you wanted to hear about and you're not even listening!" he groaned overdramatically.

"I'm so sorry, Patrick!" she said in honesty.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm just kidding with you. Now what's got your little head so occupied?" he asked, resting his chin on his hands as he propped his elbows up on the counter.

"Well, an old friend of mine showed up out of the blue last night and asked for my help with something," Mala started.

"Old friend? When's the last time you saw each other?"

"When we were kids. We were really close then, but I haven't heard from him at all since before last night. I didn't have a lot of friends growing up and for a long time, he was my only one."

"No friends? Oh pish posh, I find that hard to believe! You're charming, funny and you light up the whole room!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Patrick, you're over-exaggerating. But still, he was the only person I could really be myself around. Even now, I feel like he's the only person who really knows the real me."

"Well," Patrick said flamboyantly, "sounds to me like this 'friend' of yours is more than just a friend." Patrick leaned over the counter, cocking his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Wh-what? No! It's not like that! It's not like that at all!" Mala frantically exclaimed as she waved her hands wildly.

"Sure, sure, if you say so. So then what's the problem? If he's such a close friend, why are you so nervous?"

"Well, he wants my help with something and I'm not sure if I should help him."

"What is it he wants help with?" asked Patrick.

"Uh, I can't say. It's personal. But he's certain it'll be good for both of us – and no, not like that!" she said, playfully sticking out her tongue.

Patrick held up his arms in defense while chuckle lightheartedly. "Well I think you should help him out. Like you said, he's an old friend and he's obviously very important to you."

"Thanks for the advice, Patrick. Oh, look at that! It's quttin' time! I'll see you later, Patrick!" Mala exclaimed, gathering her belongings and clocking out at the computer. When she got home, she waited on her couch for Drago to arrive like he said he would. Finally, she heard a light tapping on her window by the fire escape. She moved to the window and saw Drago on the other side as she lifted it open. "You knocked? That's surprising."

"I'd rather not get hit by that frying pan again, thanks," he said, crawling in and patting the dirt off his coat.

"Did you get the Wind Demon Chi?" she asked.

"No, the Chans got in my way and made off with it," he spat.

"Chans?"

"The family that defeated my father every time he tried to take over this world. They think that because I'm Shendu's son, that I'm just like him. But I'm not! I just want to collect the Demon Chi to create a new world for half-demons!"

"That's awful; they're judging you based on who your father is," she muttered angrily.

"Exactly! You know what that's like, Mala. The Chans won't see me for anything other than Shendu's son and I can't do this alone. I need you, Mala," he said, looking at her with soft eyes.

"A world for half-demons; a world where I won't have to hide who I am and a world where I can be with the only person who's known the real me." Mala took a deep breath before speaking, "I'll help you, Drago."

"You will?"

"Yes, but you have to remember that I have a job. If you find a Chi while I'm at work, I won't be able to help you. The last thing I need is for you to be walking into where I work! I'll never be able to explain a dragon in a jewelry store to my boss!"

"Fine, what's your schedule like now?"

"Now? I'm off for the night and I have tomorrow off. Why?"

"I've located my aunt Bai Tza's Water Demon Chi. It's in an island out in the Pacific."

"The Pacific? How exactly are we supposed to get there?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Drago grinned.

* * *

"If you were trying to butter me up to this whole Demon Chi hunt, then let me tell you, Drago, it is working!" Mala sighed, stretching as she lay down on the reclined pool chairs that lay across the cruise ship's main deck. "Ah, this is the life! Why are you wearing that?" she asked, turning to Drago who was wrapped head to toe in a white cloak.

"I'm a dragon, Mala. Green skin and scales would just draw in unwanted attention," he growled.

"Then why not change into a human form?" Mala asked.

"Human form?"

"Yeah, all demons can do it. How do you think I lived in San Francisco without drawing attention to myself? How do you think I'm looking like this now?"

"Pfft, I'm not about to look like one of those humans. No offense, but I like the way you **really** look more," he said with a wide grin.

Mala blinked rapidly as her cheeks turned a bright red. "Oh shush, you! I'm just saying, changing into a human form will make blending in that much easier."

"The ship will be arriving in port shortly!" echoed the announcer. "We hope you all enjoyed your Polynesian Adventure here on Boru this afternoon, but hurry back because Mambo Madness begins are 4 p.m. sharp!"

Drago growled with an evil grin as a group of tourists passed them. He stood up from his seat and ripped off the cloak concealing him. He jumped onto the railing of the ship. "This time, the Chi's all mine! Let's go!"

"Wait, what do you mean 'let's go'-AAAAAHHH!" Mala screamed at the top of her lungs when Drago seized her in his arms and jumped off the ship, running along the wooden pillars until he reached the port. "Don't ever do that again," she said with a glare.

"Aw, but you make the funniest face when I do," Drago chirped playfully. "You can let go of me now."

Mala looked down and noticed that Drago already set her down on her feet, though she still tightly gripped his shirt. "Oh…sorry."

Drago started walking inland but turned back to Mala. "You gonna change, or what?"

"Huh?"

"The Chans aren't to be underestimated. You'll want to give them your all, so I'd slip into something more comfortable if I were you."

"All right. I haven't done this in a while so…" Mala closed her eyes and her body suddenly glowed a brilliant white, the light enveloping her whole body. Drago held up his hand to shield his eyes from the intensity of the light and lowered it once the light faded. Her skin was now gray-blue, her hair white and her eyes bright red. Dark blue and dark purple armor covered her chest, arms and legs while a thick tail stuck out behind her. She had teal gems on her knees, waist and chest surrounded by purple while bright pink pointed crystals accented her armor. She had a wheel of crystals floating right behind her back.

"Whoa…"

"H-how do I look?" she asked timidly.

"A lot better than I remember," he smiled. They moved across the island until they reached the beach and saw a blue gourd sitting on an elaborate altar with a banner set up above it. "There is it: the gourd with Bai Tza's Chi."

"Who are those people?" Mala asked, pointing to a young girl in a bright orange hoodies, a man in a blue sweater and khaki pants and a large man in a giant white shirt and black overalls.

"The Chans! Let's get that gourd!" he shouted.

"But she's just a kid," Mala said hesitantly, pointing to the little girl.

"She may be a small fry, but she's crafty! Don't underestimate her!" Drago shouted, jumping onto one of the banner as he let out a burst of fire in front of the altar, stopping the girl in her tracks while she tried to run for the gourd. "That's where you're wrong, short stop," he said, interrupted the girl. "I win!" The man ran over to the gourd, seizing it just as Drago let out a burst of fire from his mouth. "Stop him!"

"I'm on it!" The crystals over her back grew into wings and she took off into the air. Mala waved her arms as a stream of sharpened crystals rained down onto the beach. She followed the man in blue as he ran and finally caught him off guard with a few crystal spikes as he fell of a small lifeguard post and the gourd rolled away.

"What the? Another demon?" he said, rubbing his head.

Drago ran along the wooden railing and landed in front of the gourd. He smiled and growled in glee as his eyes narrowed towards the man. He ripped the blue decorations off the gourd and a purple-blue aura emanated off it in waves. Drago opened his mouth wide as the Chi flowed into it and his eyes. The gourd dropped onto the sand with a _thud_ and Drago closed his eyes and mouth, hanging his head low. The spines on his head extended, turning light blue as more grew along his back. His skin was turning a bright blue as his body grew, his legs merged into a long tail as tentacles emerged from the sides of his face.

"Oh man, that is not a good look for you, Drago," Mala shuddered, hovering over him.

"All that matters now is that I've got the Water Demon Chi. Hahaha! Water, water everywhere!" Drago cheered, tossing water from one hand to the other, "and more than an ocean to drink!"

"We need Uncle! Tohru, take Jade and find him!" said the man to the larger one. "I'll keep Drago and the other demon busy!" Drago shrieked as water surrounded him, lifting him up above the sand as a whirlpool supported him. "Nice trick, Drago, but if you ask me, your act is still all wet."

"Nobody likes a critic, Chan." Drago shrieked and advanced on Chan as Mala followed, shooting crystals at him while Drago tried to sweep him up in the whirlpool.

"This guy's good!" shouted Mala.

"Keep an eye out for his uncle, the old man! He's the one to watch out for!" ordered Drago as he continued stalking Chan, who jumped off the dock and into the ocean as Drago lunged forward, destroying the wooden walkway with his whirlpool.

Chan resurfaced, grabbing on to a nearby floatation device. "Uh oh…" he muttered when he heard a powerful crashing sound as the tide pulled him away from the island. A large wave rose as Chan was nearly swept into the gaping mouth that tried to crunch him.

A boat suddenly zoomed in, heading towards the wave. Mala spotted the driver, an old man with tiny glasses. "That must be him!" She swooped down behind the boat, firing shards of crystal at the boat.

"Aiya!" the old man squealed and swerved the boat, just barely missing Mala's crystals. "Yu… Mo… Gui gwai fai di zao! Yu mo gui gwai fai di zao!" he chanted, holding up a blowfish.

"A Chi Wizard!" Mala gasped, as the old man's blowfish suddenly glowed green and the strange contraption he held in his hand sucked out the dark purple energy of the Water Demon Chi from the wave. The wave, losing all its momentum, lightly crashed down into the ocean as Drago fell into the ocean screaming. "Drago!" she exclaimed, diving into the water and quickly emerging with Drago in her arms as she took off back to the mainland.

When they made it back, she set him down as he angrily shook the water off his scales and clothes, growling as he did. "I told you to watch out for the old man! Why didn't you stop him!" he shouted, spitting a small burst of fire.

"You didn't say he was a Chi Wizard! That sort of thing is important to mention, don't you think? No wonder you couldn't get the Wind Demon Chi! You were outnumbered and against a Chi Wizard! They're practically built to fight demons!" Mala shouted back.

"Well, now you know Jackie Chan's old man is a Chi Wizard! Your dad was a Chi Wizard too, right? How much did he teach you?" Drago asked.

"Only the theory. He couldn't teach me any of the spells because most of them would end up affecting me. My best guess is that he's using a spell designed to extract whatever Demon Chi we're all targeting. That weird gizmo I saw him holding must be what absorbs and contains the Chi. If you want to keep the next Demon Chi you find, you'll want to avoid him. The longer the Chi stays bonded to you, the harder it will be for him to remove it."

"And that gizmo must be able to detect the Demon Chi when it activates, like my trances," he added.

"They caught us off guard because you didn't keep me well-informed on who we'd be facing. A Chi Wizard, Drago? You have to tell me things like that! If we're going to get all the Demon Chi, you have to tell me everything I need to know about them," she said, crossing her arms and angrily glaring at Drago.

"You do need to be well informed. Let's go. I'll fill you in on the way back."

* * *

**Well, I'll be working on the next chapter. It'll mostly be episode 3, but I might throw in some new stuff after that. For a good look at Mala's demon form, head on over to my deviantart or wiki!**

**Cheers!**


	3. Two Birds One Stone

**I've been working on this chapter for a while now, mostly because I got distracted by other shit. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this take on episode 3!**

**I do not own JCA, only Mala and other OCs. Any spelling or grammar errors are my fault.**

* * *

Mala tiredly pried her exhausted eyes open and propped herself on her elbows when she heard the loud knocking. She glanced at her clock. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she muttered in annoyance as she pushed herself out of bed and shuffled over to the door, all the while wondering who would be knocking on her door at 2 in the morning. She pulled open her door, but saw no one there. "What the?" Before she could question anything further, she heard the same knock again, this time coming from behind her. "Oh, come on," she muttered under her breath before making her way to the window and opening, allowing Drago to enter.

"About time, I've been knocking for almost ten minutes! I was getting ready to smash it open," he growled.

"Drago, it's 2 in the morning!" she yawned. "What are you even doing here?"

"I tried busting into Section 13 to get the Wind and Water Demon Chi. I got in, but there were too many of them for me to take on by myself."

"Section 13?" she asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes and sitting on the couch as Drago paced back and forth in front of her.

"A little government organization that the Chans work with. They're the ones who threw me in the slammer because of my old gecko. It's also where the Chans are storing all the Demon Chi they've acquired. I was hoping to get in and out with the Chi, but I was outnumbered."

"Well of course you were outnumbered. You tried to storm a stronghold by yourself! What were you thinking?" she chastised.

"I was thinking I'd get the Chi! But even with you, we're still up against an army. We'll need some extra hands if we're going to get that Chi."

"Excellent idea!" she exclaimed lazily. "You should get right on that! I'll just head back to bed and-"

"I don't think so, Mala. We need to find some henchmen," he grinned.

"Drago, it's the middle of the night. Everyone in San Francisco is sleeping and I would honestly like to join them. You can crash here tonight and we can find some henchmen tomorrow," she yawned.

"But-"

"I said I'm going to sleep!" she glared, her eyes glowing bright red. Drago slightly flinched at her sudden outburst and deep voice while she loudly slammed her bedroom door.

Drago stood in place for a few seconds before moving to the couch. "Well, it's a huge step up from the junkyard," he said as he settled in and got comfortable before closing his eyes. He awoke in the morning when the sunlight hit his eyes through the window. He sat up and saw Mala already dressed and in her kitchen.

"Morning," she greeted, holding two hot cups of coffee in her hands. "Coffee?" she asked, handing him one of the cups.

"What is it?" he asked, sniffing the contents hesitantly.

"It's a drink that helps keep people awake, you know, when they don't get enough sleep," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Drago took a small sip. His face contorted and he spat the coffee all over the living room floor.

"Drago!" Mala yelled, reaching for a paper towel to wipe up the mess.

"Ugh, that's disgusting! Why is it so bitter?" he cried, sticking out his tongue.

"People usually add cream and sugar to make it sweeter. It's an acquired taste," she said, taking the cup from him.

"Euck, well I'll be a happy demon if I never have to see coffee again! Are you ready yet? We have henchmen to find."

"Oh, before we go, I've got something for you," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a key.

"What's this?" Drago asked.

"A key," she answered.

"Yes, I can see that it's a key! I meant, what's it for?"

"It's the spare key to my apartment, so you don't have to keep coming through the window. Just don't touch any of my stuff and definitely don't breathe on anything! I'd like to be to able to come home and find everything in tact," she said, raising her finger as she spoke.

"Fine, I won't touch any of your precious stuff," he replied in a childish tone. "Let's go."

* * *

"Oh god, this is where you've been living? The junkyard? Seriously, Drago?" Mala yelled.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"For one thing, the smell is so bad that I just might puke," she replied, pinching her nose as she mildly suppressed the urge to throw up. "AH! Was that a spider? I think I saw a spider!" she squealed, nearly jumping out of her skin.

"Well you're going to have to get used to it. This'll be our base of operations; it's out of way and secluded. Nobody even comes here. Come on, we've got some auditions to review," he said, moving over to a table with two chair set up.

"Wait, how exactly did you even advertise this?"

"Not important," he replied, motioning for her to sit in the chair.

"Oh, I am not sitting in that chair," Mala said, seeing the dirt stains all over it.

"Baby," he muttered. They spent the morning going through the few people that came for the audition and for the most part, they were all pathetic. Drago angrily drove his claws right through the middle of the table, splitting it in two, flames nearly rolling off his tongue. "You are all pathetic!" he shouted, as the auditions hung their heads. "I'm looking for henchmen, bone crushing, skull caving henchmen!" As he ranted on, one of the auditions, a blond man in a raggedy green suit nervously ran off. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I never should have fired the Enforcers," he muttered.

"Enforcers?" Mala asked confused.

"Some lackeys that used to work for my father. I should have known they'd be useless since the old man never succeeded in anything!"

"Yo dude, you've seen the rest, now eyeball the best!" Drago and Mala looked up to see three teenagers in black standing on a junk pile. They rode down on their skateboards and effortlessly took out the failed auditions. "So we got the gig or what?" asked the short blonde, flicking a little fly away.

"What's your name?" Drago asked.

"They call me Strikemaster Ice. This here's my crew: DJ Fist and MC Cobra," he said, introducing the two boys behind him.

"You are the best I've seen all day," Drago pondered. "Tell you what, if you can last a minute against my girl, then you're hired."

"I'm sorry, but come again?" Mala asked.

"Let's be honest here, Mala. If they can't stand up to you, then they won't be able to stand up to me."

"Are you saying that you're stronger than I am?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm just saying that one of us actually likes being a demon and using our powers. Besides, you need the practice," he said, gently nudging her towards Ice, Fist and Cobra. "And use your tail more! It's like you forget you even have one!"

"Fine, fine!"

"Yo, you want us to fight the skinny chick?" asked Cobra.

"Mah mama always told me never to hit a girl, but this wouldn't be the first time I didn't listen to her," Ice said, cracking his knuckles. The three swiftly shot towards Mala, who erected a large crystal wall to stop them out of instinct. "Whoa, girl's got some moves!" Fist boosted Ice and Cobra over the wall and they advanced on Mala.

"Ok, use your tail, use your tail," she repeated to herself. Her tail formed along her body as she spun, striking Ice and Cobra with its thick body right into the crystal wall.

"Yo dude did you see that?" cried Cobra.

"Girls be sproutin' tails? Now I've seen it all, man," Ice replied.

Fist suddenly appeared behind Mala and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her to restrain her arms. Mala flipped her tail, hitting Fist right in the crotch. He pulled back his arms to grasp his injured groin, freeing Mala.

"Low blow, little lady," said Ice and he and a recovered Cobra moved towards her again. A bright light enveloped Mala as the three boys held up their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding light. "Whoa, freaky light show." When the light faded, Mala stood in her crystal armor as her bright red eyes focused in on the three. She waved her arms as her pink claws extended and she advanced on the three with an evil glare in her eyes.

"That's enough!" Drago called out. Mala stopped her advance and changed back into human form as Drago walked in between her and the three boys. Drago opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes widened and focused straight ahead of him.

Ice, Cobra and Fist followed his line of sight to see what he was looking at but saw nothing interesting. "Yo, your gecko boy's buggin' out," said Ice.

Mala walked up to him, inspecting Drago's face. She waved her hand over his face, but his eyes didn't move. "He's in a trance," she concluded.

"It's near," he whispered, coming out of his trance.

"Another Demon Chi?" Mala asked.

Drago nodded, "Dai Gui, the Earth Demon. Let's go!"

"Yo hold up, dawg. Now we don't work for free. You want our services, you gots to show some green!" Ice exclaimed.

Drago quickly blasted them with a fireball as the flames surrounded the three.

"Drago, what are you doing?" Mala shouted.

"Relax," he said. When the fire died down, Ice, Cobra and Fist were still standing, but now their skin was green and scaly, their hair also green and spiky and they all wore matching red and black uniforms with the same flame emblem Drago wore on his shirt. "You each now have a small portion of my Fire Demon Chi: dragon speed, dragon strength and dragon breath."

"That'll work!" exclaimed Ice, testing his new fire breath.

"You're on the clock now and we have Demon Chi to claim."

"So where are we going?" Mala asked.

"San Diego," Drago replied.

"San Diego? That's like a 7 hour drive from here!"

"Not if you fly us."

"You do realize that I won't be able to carry everyone right?"

"Fine! We better get going before somebody else gets that Chi."

* * *

"The flower's in here, I can feel it," Drago said as they walked up to a flower shop.

"Yo, a flower shop? Figures," said Ice.

"It certainly narrows down the search," added Mala.

"It's a flower freshness detector! My uncle is very picky," said Jackie from inside the store.

"So am I!" The Chans turned towards the door when they heard Drago's voice. "I want a flower that smells like Demon Chi," he grinned.

"Drago…" muttered Tohru.

"And… Strikemaster Ice?" Jackie asked.

"Hey, Pizza Face and his crew got a Drago makeover! And he's got that other demon with him too!" exclaimed Jade.

"Yo dawg, you didn't say nothing about putting the hurt on Chan. First day on the job and we already getting' a bonus!" Ice, Cobra and Fist charged at the Chans.

"Find the flower!" Drago ordered.

"There's like a million flowers in this store! How are we supposed to find the one out of all these that has the Earth Demon Chi?" Mala cried as she sifted through every single flower on the shelves as the Ice crew fought Jackie and Tohru. When she heard a loud sneeze behind her, she turned only to have Cobra fly right into her as they both broke through the wall. Mala dug her claws into the wood boards of the walkway and managed to slow down, but Cobra kept going and fell right over the railway and into the water below.

"Yo, I could use a hand!" Cobra called from in the water. Mala slammed her hand onto the pier as a crystal ladder formed from her fingertips down to Cobra. "Cool, thanks!" he cried, climbing up Mala's ladder.

Mala dashed back into the store, again searching through all the flowers while Ice and Fist were preoccupied with Jackie and Tohru. Jade and Uncle focused in on a pot of orange sunflowers, which drew Drago's attention. He and Jade picked each flower out of the pot one by one until only a single sunflower was left.

"For me? You shouldn't have," Drago grinned. He let out a stream of fire from his mouth as Jade pushed Uncle out of the way.

Before he could reach for the pot, Jade quickly grabbed it and kicked Drago in the face with a loud "Hiya!" Drago crashed into a stack of pots, shattering them as he landed. "I picked this for you!" she cheered, holding the flower in front of Uncle as he prepared his Chi spell.

"Not so fast!" Mala prepared a rain of crystals to fire at them but a clay pot collided right into the side of her head. When she recovered, she saw that Jackie had subdued Ice and was preparing to throw another pot at her. She closed her wings around her to shield herself from the pots as they smashed on impact with her wings.

"NOO!" Drago shouted, rushing towards Uncle like a stampeding bull as Uncle finished extracting the Chi. Before he could reach the old Chi Wizard, Uncle blasted him with a bright green beam of Chi energy, sending him flying right into Mala as they crashed into a set up of floral arrangements. He angrily shoved the crushed floral arrangements and wooden stands off him and pulled himself up. "Grr, they're gone. Let's get out of here!" he shouted, retreating through the large hole in the wall.

They moved down to a more secluded area near the bridge, a docking pier. "Was that a joke back there? Did I hire clowns?" Drago started. The three stood in a straight line while Drago spoke as he passed each of them. "I give you powers beyond your wildest imagination and you amateurs can't get past an archaeologist, a tub of guts, an old man and a little girl? And you," he shouted, turning to Mala in her human form, "you barely helped at all!"

"I'm not the one who got kicked in the face by a little girl," Mala retorted.

"I-" Drago's face suddenly froze as his eyes became unfocused.

"Yo, he's buggin' again!" Ice exclaimed.

"You three are about to get a second chance," Drago grinned as he came out of his trance.

"Another Demon Chi already?" Mala asked.

"Yes, it's nearby in a zoo. Let's go." They made their way to the San Diego Zoo and filed through the exhibits, following Drago and his instincts.

"You know, I've always wanted to visit a zoo. It's kinda sad that the first time I get to is on a Demon Chi hunt," said Mala.

"Down there!" Drago shouted, pointing down into the panda exhibit as they all jumped over the railing. They made their way over to a small pond where a large white lotus flower floated. "Now that's what I'm talking about," he said, kneeling by the pond and reaching his claw out to the lotus.

All of a sudden, a bright green beam of energy shot past them. "Step away from the lotus pod!" Jade exclaimed, holding out a cone of cotton candy like a weapon.

"Ah, Jade!" Jackie exclaimed.

"I'm your backup, remember?"

"The Demon Chi stays, you go," Tohru ordered.

"We'll see about that," replied Drago, steam escaping from his mouth.

"Uh… Drago?"

"Not now, Mala," he said, moving towards the pond and seizing the lotus in his hands. "What? It was here just a second ago!" he exclaimed, looking around to make sure he had the right lotus flower.

"Drago, we have lift off," Mala said, pointing to the panda bear floating towards the high growing bamboo leaves.

"Moon Demon Chi, control over gravity," explained Uncle. Drago shot a stream of fire towards them as they all dove out of the way.

"After that bear!" he ordered. They ran over to the stalks of bamboo and Drago began effortlessly climbing them. Jackie pursued and Drago shouted to the Ice Crew, "Slow him down!"

"Need a lift?" Mala asked, hovering next to Drago and offering him her hand. Drago grinned and accepted, gripping her hand as she took off over the canopy of the bamboo leaves. "How did they already get in that cable car?" she asked, seeing Jade and Uncle in the cable car that followed the floating panda.

"I told you, the kid's crafty!" Drago answered. Mala spun around and flung Drago towards the panda, but it swerved out of the way.

"No hitchhikers!" Jade declared. Drago flailed his arms as he tried to reach for the cart. Mala shot three crystal spikes into the cable car as Drago gripped them, flinging himself onto the roof of the cable car.

"I'll come back for you later," he whispered to Jade. Drago ran along the wire ahead of the cable car as the Ice Crew ascended the bamboo and joined him, Mala flying right behind them.

"Leave Chinese bear alone!" Uncle declared, aiming his blowfish at Drago and the Ice Crew.

"Grr, take care of the old man!" Drago ordered as he narrowly dodged the beam. Mala turned towards the approaching cable car with Jade and Uncle inside. She summoned a cluster of crystal shards and, with the wave of her arms, sent them flying towards the cable car.

"Look out!" Jade exclaimed, pulling Uncle down to the floor of the cable car, narrowly dodging the raining shrapnel. Mala turned back just in time to see Jackie jump onto the cable and slam the four dragons off and tumbling down into a pool of water below.

"Nice panda! Come to-"

"Mind if I cut in?" Mala interjected, slamming her thick tail into Jackie as he tipped right off the cable. She clicked her tongue to get the panda's attention and coaxed it into following her. "That's a good little panda. I know a great place where we can get some tasty bamboo leaves. Come on, this way!" she exclaimed, as the panda followed her.

"Whoa, the panda's getting all moony!" Mala looked down and saw the Chans by a double decker bus.

"How'd they get here so fast? Drago was right, they are crafty," Mala muttered to herself.

"Panda will return to normal once Demon Chi is extracted," explained Uncle.

"Which is something you won't get the chance to do," Mala said, narrowing her red eyes at the group. She descended to the ground and extended out her claws.

"Jackie! You must distract crystal demon while I prepare the Demon Chi removal spell!" Uncle yelled.

"Why are you helping Drago?" Jackie asked, dodging Mala's claws.

"Why can't you just let us be? Drago's trying a create a new world for people like us!" Mala yelled back.

"What do you mean people like you?" He dodged her claw again and swiftly grabbed her wrist and flipped her over onto her back. Mala swept her tail and knocked Jackie onto his back while she landed back on her feet.

"You wouldn't understand," she muttered. She heard Uncle chanting his Chi spell and saw the green energy hit the panda, extracting the Moon Demon Chi from the panda. "No!"

The Moon Demon Chi was sucked into the Chi-o-matic and the force of the impact knocked Uncle to the ground. Suddenly, the Chi-o-matic began rattling and smoking as Uncle said, "Uncle was afraid of this…" He pulled off the lid of the Chi-o-matic as the two Demon Chis burst out and into the air. "Chi-o-matic can only hold one power at a time!"

Drago drove up to them in a golf cart, followed by the Ice Crew in another. He drove off a small cliff and jumped from the golf cart. "Fore!" he shouted, opening his mouth wide to catch the Moon Demon Chi imbued lotus. His body was covered in red and purple robes as a long dark ponytail flowed from the back of his head. A thin tongue stuck out of his mouth as he grew two small arms. "Now that is some serious hang time," he grinned, floating above everyone.

"Jackie! Drago must not obtain Earth Demon Chi!" Uncle cried.

"After that Demon Chi!" ordered Drago. The flower peacefully floated above the ground as Jackie ran over to it. The Ice Crew tackled him to the ground, but Tohru roughly landed on them, releasing Jackie as he continued to the flower. He dove for it but the flower shot up into the air. "It's a two for one special. Slow him down!"

Mala, flying right behind Drago, fired a rain of sharpened crystals at Jackie, but he easily jumped out of the way of each of them. "He's fast!" she cried in annoyance.

Just as Drago closed in on the flower, Jackie scaled the trees and swooped in, snatching the Earth Demon Chi from Drago and landing safely on a large rock below. "Jackie, do not let Drago touch you! He will try to drain the Demon Chi!" yelled Uncle.

"Oh I won't just touch you Chan. I'll rip you apart!" Drago and Mala raised their claws to attack Jackie, but he raised his hands, sending a large boulder from the ground flying into them. They landed roughly by the double decker bus and Drago angrily pushed the boulder off them. "We can't let Chan keep the Earth Demon Chi!"

"I know! The longer it stays with him, the harder it'll be to remove!" Mala added.

"When I get my hands on him, I'm going to rip him to pieces," he grinned. Drago dug his talons into the double decker bus and hoisted it over his head. "Hey Chan, catch!" he shouted, launching the bus straight towards Jackie. When the dust cleared, a large hole sat in the middle of the impact crater. "He's gone underground!"

Mala scanned the area and spotted a moving trail of dirt. "There he is!" Mala waved her arms and fired her crystal shards at the burrowing Jackie. Every piece that landed narrowly missed as Jackie made sharp turns here and there.

Jackie resurfaced briefly, his skin turning red-brown as small horns began growing from his forehead. He was speaking with Uncle when Drago called, "Fire in the hole!" tossing a few fireballs at them as Uncle moved out of the way and Jackie submerged again.

"I told you, he's fast!" Mala shouted as she and Drago simultaneously launched fireballs and crystal shards at the swift moving trail. Jackie suddenly emerged from the ground, now huge and hulking with thick arms and legs and large horns. "Whoa…" Mala said in awe.

Jackie punched the ground and roared, sending the debris flying towards Drago and Mala. They faltered slightly, but regained their composure as Drago eyed the power lines behind them. "All that digging must have made you thirsty, Chan. How about a little juice?" Drago waved his hand as it and Jackie became surrounded by a purple-blue aura. Jackie suddenly began rising towards the power lines. "Ha, we got him," Drago smirked.

Mala heard Uncle chanting a familiar spell and turned to see the old man pointing his Chi-o-matic right at Drago. "No!" Drago wailed as the Moon Demon Chi was drained from his body and into the Chi-o-matic.

"Drago!" Mala cried, catching Drago before he started falling.

"Get the old man!" he shouted. Mala prepared to dive onto Uncle, but then he blasted her with Chi energy from his blowfish. She cried out as the Chi spell struck her and crashed into the ground. "Get up!" she heard Drago shout as he roughly nudged her.

"Ow!" Mala cursed, rubbing her arm. "What's your problem?"

"My problem? My problem is that I had two Demon Chis in the palm of my hands only to lose them to them to those rotten Chans!" he shouted, breathing out flames in anger.

"Drago, calm down. So the Chans got away with the Moon and Earth Demon Chi. There's still three out there, right? And once we get those, we'll figure out a way to get the rest from Section 13," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"All right," he conceded. "Let's grab the stooges and go."

* * *

**Man that was a lot! I'm pooped! Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more adventures with Mala. I promise you it will not be entirely a rewrite of season 5. I am throwing some of my own things into the mix too ;)  
**

**Next Chapter: Mala has a troubling dream while Drago and the Ice Crew invade her apartment. Meanwhile, Section 13 does some research on Drago's latest teammate. **

**Cheers!**


	4. Shattered Facade

**Ah, here's the next chapter. Some interesting stuff happens here. No Demon Chis! Just Mala... Mala and her mother. Yes, Lang Yan, the Crystal Demon Sorceress finally appears and Mala isn't sure how to handle seeing her mother for the first time in years.**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala, Lang Yan and other OCS. **

* * *

"This is the security footage we pulled from a camera at a docking bay near the Coronado Bridge," Captain Black explained as they gathered around a viewing screen in Section 13.

"There is Drago and the Ice Crew," stated Tohru.

"Yes, but who is that girl with them?" Jackie asked, pointing to the brown-haired girl standing with Drago.

"Duh! She's gotta be that flying demon we saw with him!" Jade exclaimed.

"But she doesn't look anything like a demon! OW!" Jackie cried, just as Uncle whacked Jackie's forehead with his index and middle fingers.

"Stupid nephew already forget? Demons can take on human form!" Uncle scolded. "Do you not remember when Xiao Fung and Hsi Wu both took on a human form?"

"Oh, that's right. But how does this help us?" Jackie asked.

"Tch, we find the crystal girl, we find Drago! And then we can take him out, toss him in Pizza Face back into the slammer and get all the Demon Chi for ourselves!" Jade exclaimed.

"We find the demon girl, we find Drago," Captain Black paraphrased. "But appearance alone isn't much to go on if we're going to find her."

"Drago said her name was Mala," Jade added.

"Mala… That's not exactly a common name. We'll start looking for her right away."

* * *

"Wh-what is this place? Where am I?" Mala looked around the barren, empty world littered with floating rocks trying to piece together some form of answer to the questions that littered her mind. She looked down at her hands and discovered that she was in her demon form.

"Your task was simple: earn the Chi Wizard's trust and steal his secrets. And now you return years later as a failure!"

Mala turned around when she heard a voice speak in a calculating tone. Demons surrounded her and she swore that they were not there a second ago. In front of her stood a tall demon with long, dark hair in red and purple robes. His most prominent feature was the long, skinny pink tongue that twirled around like a snake. She recognized his appearance as the same one Drago took on when he absorbed the Moon Demon Chi. "Moon Demon Sorcerer… Tso Lan." When the demons paid her no attention, she cautiously reached out to touch them, only for her hand to phase right through them.

"How pathetic, Lang Yan. The rest of us would have easily accomplished such a task in less than half the time it took you!" scolded Bai Tza, the Water Demon Sorceress.

"What happened, Lang? Did you grow soft? In your façade of marriage, did you actually begin to develop feelings for the Wizard? You know that such a crime cannot go unpunished!" Tso Lan declared.

"I have nothing to say on the matter. Jasper discovered the truth about me and now I am banished like the rest of you." Mala turned to the crouched figure Tso Lan addressed. The demon was female, with long white hair; grey-blue skin; armor of black, blue, purple and pink; two large crystal wheels floating over her back; and when the demon lifted her head, Mala could see the large, bright red eyes staring at Tso Lan.

"Mom…" Mala stared wide-eyed at this demon that she so strongly resembled.

"And you even had the gall to birth a disgusting half-breed. You only bring further shame to your name, Lang Yan," Tso Lan scolded.

"How interesting, Tso Lan," Lang started.

"What?"

"How interesting that you scold me for birthing a half-breed, when your own brother had fathered a child through a human woman. If I'm not mistaken, should not Shen Du receive the same punishment that you intend to give me? Or is he spared such a fate because he is your brother and the child had disappeared into the future far out of your reach for persecution? You make your claim hypocritically, Tso Lan. If I am to be punished for birthing a half-breed, should not every demon that has done so?"

"Do not try to change the subject, Lang Yan!" hissed Bai Tza. "You are here for your failure to secure the Chi Wizard's secrets!"

"Then the fact I mothered a half-breed is irrelevant. Why is it, my fellow Demon Sorcerers, that the idea of a half-breed existing frightens you so? Is it because you have discovered what I have?" Lang asked, a grin growing across her face as her crystal ball hovered in her palm.

"And what would that be?" Tso Lan asked, his eyes narrowing as the other Demon Sorcerers fell silent.

"Despite their weaknesses you cannot deny that the humans have strength, a strength that we lack. Demons and humans are equally powerful, enough to oppose each other with either side coming out the victor. We have raw power, unmatched by any other force on Earth. But the humans have passion, resourcefulness and tenacity, all qualities that we lack. Now imagine, if you will, if two such powers were to come together in a single being. Raw, unmatched demonic powers combined with the passion, resourcefulness and tenacity of the human mind and will. There would be no stopping it! You only fear such an idea because you consider it a threat to your own power!"

"Threat? How could something as weak as the child of a human pose a threat to us?" asked Xiao Fung.

"You cannot deny that the humans have strong qualities. How do you think they have managed to defeat our kind when victory is almost in our grasp? They take advantage of our arrogance and blindside us when we least expect it," Lang announced, clenching her fingers into a fist. "Make no mistake, demon-human hybrids are the future. They combine all the strengths of demon and human into one. The hybrids will be more powerful than any of us could ever have imagined. They will accomplish more than we have ever hoped to. Of that, I am certain," she asserted, holding up her crystal ball.

"What have you seen, Lang?" Tso Lan shouted.

"A demon doesn't kiss and tell, Tso Lan," she teased, waving her index finger back and forth at the Moon Demon. "Each of you will eventually have to accept it: half-demons will bring about a new future, one we have never been able to achieve. Whether you can accept it and be apart of this future is up to all of you. But I have already seen it. They will do great things… She will do great things," Lang declared, staring into her crystal ball.

"I meant every word of it, you know." The demons before her suddenly vanished into thin air and Mala turned to face the familiar voice. "Long time, no see," she mused, playfully waving her fingers.

"You!" Mala breathed.

"It's been a long time, my dear. You've grown so much. And look at that, you even have my eyes and my hair and my, well everything," Lang grinned. "How's dad?"

"RAAH!" Mala charged forward at Lang Yan, angrily bearing her claws.

"Now, now, that's quite a temper you've got there! You must have gotten that from me too."

"I got NOTHING from you!" Mala yelled furiously, chaotically slashing a Lang, who effortlessly danced aside and dodged each attack. "I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"Who are you trying to convince, child? Oh, now that's enough of your little tantrum. It's mommy's turn to talk," Lang Yan waved her arms and crystals materialized around Mala's body, encasing her arms and lower body. "There's no point in trying to break free. Anything you can do with crystals, I can do better," she grinned as Mala struggled. "I am your mother, after all."

"What do you want? Why are you doing this? How is this even possible?"

"The answer is simple, my dear. I would have thought it had been obvious. This is a dream. My body may be trapped in the Demon Netherworld, but my mind is free to wander where I wish. What you just saw was a memory, specifically my memory of when I was banished by your dear father. The other Demons weren't too happy with my failure and they exiled me to the farthest corner of the Netherworld."

"Good! It's where you belong!" Mala shouted.

Lang reached down and took a hold of Mala's chin in her hand. "Now is that any way to talk to your mother?"

"You're no mother of mine," Mala muttered.

"Oh that hurts me, Mala!" Lang moaned overdramatically. "I'd be careful with that sharp tongue of yours. Someone might… cut it out. Getting rather close to Shen Du's son, aren't you?"

Mala tensed and her eyes narrowed in a demonic glare as she shouted back, "That's none of your business!"

"I'd be careful, if I were you. You should never trust a demon, especially the son of a demon like Shen Du."

"Drago's nothing like Shen Du!" Mala argued.

"Really? Are you sure about that? I'm just trying to give you some motherly advice, that's all. Isn't that what mothers do?" Lang replied casually. "Children are more like their parents than they realize. One day, you will see. But now, it's time to wake, my dear. You've got a busy day ahead of you."

Mala's eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up. She looked down at her hands and sighed in relief to see her pale white skin. She looked around and found that she was back in her bedroom. "It was just a dream," she sighed. But even for a dream, it felt so real. She could almost still feel the crystals encasing her against her skin and her mother's hands on her face. And what she said… "You should never trust a demon." Mala knew all too well that demons couldn't be trusted, something her father taught her long ago. There wasn't anything in the world that would convince her to trust the word of Lang Yan. And the fact that she, a demon, was telling Mala not to trust demons was already contradictory. Besides, Drago was her friend and half-human, like her. There was no way she would trust Lang Yan's word over Drago's. She pushed the thoughts of the dream to the back of her mind and hauled herself out of bed and made her way to the kitchen to make some coffee.

"Yo, can we get some breakfast over here or what?" Mala dashed into the living room when she heard another voice.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" she shouted, her jaw nearly dropping at the sight of Ice, Cobra and Fist in her living room.

"D-man said we could crash here," Ice replied.

"Wh-wha… DRAGO!" Mala shouted.

She heard Drago answer with an annoyed "What?" from the bathroom. She opened the door him lying in the empty bathtub.

"Ugh, at least you're not naked. What are you doing in there?"

"Well, I was sleeping," he remarked.

"Did you tell Ice, Cobra and Fist that they could stay here?"

"Yeah, that's why you gave me the key, right? So we could crash here?" Drago asked, climbing out of the tub.

"I gave you that key so that you could crash here. You, not them!" Mala clarified. "This is a one bedroom apartment, Drago! It's not designed for more than two people!"

"What's the big deal? You offered me a place to stay and they're my henchmen now."

"The deal, Drago, is that I cannot handle having three guys I barely know living in my apartment. I need some privacy, some space!" Mala sighed angrily and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Give me back my key." When Drago did nothing, Mala asked for it again. "Come on, give me my key!" Drago muttered something under his breath and returned Mala's key. She disappeared into her room for a few minutes and emerged dressed in her usual clothes with her hair up. "I'm going to work and when I get back, you all better not be here!" she shouted, slamming the door shut behind her. She quickly opened it and added, "And I don't want to find anything broken or on fire!" before shutting the door again.

Mala pushed her frustration to the back of mind to join her earlier thoughts about the dream she had. She arrived at the jewelry store and greeted Patrick when she entered. She moved to the back to put her things away and fetch her nametag. "Mala could you come out here, please?" she heard Patrick call.

"Sure thing!" she called back. She made her way to the front of the store and saw a bald man in a black trench coat standing in front of Patrick on the opposite side of the glass display case. He had a very stern and serious gaze and had three men dressed in suits standing behind him. "What's going on?" she asked cautiously.

"Mala Reid?" the bald man asked.

"…Yes," Mala answered hesitantly.

"We have some questions that we need to ask you. We'd like it if you came with us."

"Questions about what?" Mala asked, not moving as her gaze locked with the bald man's.

"Where were you two days ago?"

"It was my day off. I went to the mall and then stayed home for the evening," she answered.

"Really? Are you sure you weren't at the Coronado bridge in San Diego?"

"San Diego? That's crazy! Why would Mala be in San Diego?" asked Patrick.

"I don't know. Why doesn't she tell us?" The bald man narrowed his eyes at Mala, who did the same in return. The room was silent for a few seconds when Mala suddenly reacted, waving her hand as a horizontal wave of crystals appeared on the floor, encasing the bald man and his associates' legs in the crystal. Patrick wailed in shock as Mala bolted for the front door. "She's running!" the bald man shouted.

"Mala, wait!" Patrick shouted, running after her. "Mala, what's going on?" When he caught up to her outside the store, he saw several black trucks parked on the streets as several men clad in black armor surrounded them. "Wh-what is all this?"

"End of the line," Mala and Patrick turned around to see the bald man standing in the doorway of the shop, having freed himself from the crystal. "There's nowhere to run, demon."

"Demon? Mala, what is he talking about?" Patrick asked.

Mala hung her head low and shut her eyes tightly, trying to keep the tears that were building up from escaping. This couldn't be happening, not now! She was so close to having a normal life with a job and friends. But just as she had greatly feared, the part of her she had been trying to deny ever existing – her demon heritage – interfered with her efforts. She choked back a quiet sob, but not quietly enough for Patrick to not notice.

"Mala?" he asked, gently placing his hand on her shoulder to console her.

"Patrick," she started, turning her teary face towards him, "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to find out about this." She lowered her head as the white light radiated from her body as she changed into her demon form. Patrick fell to the ground and screamed, his eyes wide with fear. "Patrick, wait, it's still me." She reached her hand out towards him, but he backed away frantically, nearly tripping as he tried to stand and ran off, shouting "monster" as he went.

Mala stared off at her fleeing friend, the word "monster" repeating in her head over and over again. Patrick was one of her few friends and he called her a monster. She glanced over to the store window, seeing her reflection in the mirror. "Monster…" she muttered. In her shocked state, Mala hadn't noticed the bald man's associates surround her, each of them aiming their weapons directly at her.

"Just come quietly," they warned.

"You humans…" she muttered. "Why? Why can't you just leave me alone!" she shrieked as the ground shook beneath them.

"Open fire!" Mala immediately generated large crystal shields, deflecting their attacks. She waved her arms and fired a rain of crystal shrapnel at her attacks. They yelped and jumped out of the way from her attacks.

"She's too powerful!" shouted one of the men.

"We still have something. Fire the Sonic Cannon!" the bald man ordered. His associates wheeled in a large dish and aimed it right at Mala, who was busy shielding herself from more attacks while preparing her own counter attack. "Fire!" His associates flipped the switch, activating the sonic weapon, which emitted a powerful sonic blast. Mala turned just as the blast struck her and screamed in pain, tightly grasping her ears. Her crystal shields cracked and shattered to pieces and slowly, so did her armor. Her armor shattered and her skin cracked off, revealing the peach, human skin beneath. She fell to the ground and landed roughly on her back and lay there unconscious. The bald man walked up to Mala's unconscious body and turned to his associates, "All right, contain her and let's head back to Section 13."

* * *

**Oh noes! Mala has been captured by Section 13. Her life is essentially ruined and no one is coming to save her? Or is there?**

**I think my favorite part about this chapter was writing Lang Yan. She was just so much fun to write. Sure I've written villains before, but there's something about writing a manipulative and psychological torturer that is just loads of fun.**

**Next Chapter: Drago discovers that Mala has been captured by Section 13 and sets out to rescue her. Meanwhile, Mala is still reeling from her traumatic attack and her dream. **


	5. Rescue

**Here's the next chapter! Not much to say since I'm working on other stuff and a potential story after this! I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala, Lang Yan, Jasper and other mentioned OCs.**

* * *

"It's odd she hasn't tried to escape yet," noted Captain Black. He, Jackie and Uncle stood outside an interrogation room, looking in through the one-way window. Inside at the desk sat the young girl with long brown hair they had just apprehended. Her dark red eyes darted across the room back and forth as she nervously rubbed her arms.

"How did you even capture her?" asked Jackie.

"Sonic Cannon: it tore right through that crystal armor of hers," Black replied smugly.

"Captain Black never learns! Magic must defeat magic!" Uncle shouted.

"Well today, science defeated magic. I've got it aimed right at this interrogation room and ready to fire in case she tries anything." Black stepped into the interrogation room and shut the door behind him. "Mala Reid," he said out loud as he sat down across from her. "So tell me, where is Drago?" he narrowed his eyes, his voice falling into a deeper tone.

Mala avoided eye contact with him and instead focused on a corner in the room.

"Not a talker? All right then, according to your file, you lived with your father, Jasper Reid, until about three years ago when he passed away. You dropped out of high school, moved to San Francisco and applied for a job at Patrick McGuire's jewelry store. So, care to enlighten me on how you came into Mr. Reid's care?"

Mala quickly snapped her eyes to Captain Black, making eye contact for the first time since he walked into the room. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"How did a demon like yourself come under Jasper Reid's care? Why would he take you in?"

"He didn't take me in; he was my father."

"Are you saying Jasper Reid was your biological father?" he asked, clarifying. Mala nodded. "Now here's where it gets confusing. You're a demon and you mean to tell me your father was a human. That just doesn't make sense."

"It makes a lot of sense. You're just ignoring the obvious."

"And the obvious is?"

"I'm human."

"But you're a demon," Black corrected.

"Yes."

"So which are you? Human or demon?"

"… I'm both," she answered. Captain Black leaned back in his chair, his eyes wide in shock. "I'm half-human and half-demon."

"Then your mother is-"

"SHE'S NOT MY MOTHER!" Mala yelled, angrily slamming her fists into the table as her crystal armor started forming over her forearms. Captain Black jumped out of his chair, but quickly turned towards the window and calmly waved his hand. Mala breathed heavily as she hung her head, the crystal armor slowly disappearing. "I don't know anything about her. She was banished by my father when I was five and I haven't seen her since. Ask your Chi Wizard. I'm sure he could tell you more about Lang Yan than I could."

"What is the nature of your relationship with Drago?" he asked, changing the subject. Mala again remained silent. "Interesting how you're always quiet when the subject of Drago comes up. Why are you helping him?"

"We half-demons have to stick together against people like you."

"So Drago's a half-demon as well? And what do you mean 'people like me'?"

"People who think that we are just like our demon parents, who judge us based on who our parents are. Drago was right: demons hate us and humans will never accept us. When can I go home?"

"Once you tell me where Drago is and what he's planning," Black answered. Mala stayed silent. "Then I guess we'll be here for a while." Black sighed and stepped out of the room to rejoin Jackie and Uncle.

* * *

"Yo when's pretty little gem gettin' home? We're starving!" Ice groaned.

"Yeah, Fist already raided her fridge and didn't leave anything for us!" Cobra whined as Fist burped loudly.

Drago looked at the clock on the wall and growled. "It's already 7 o'clock. She should have been home by now!" He heard a knock on the door and dashed towards it, swiftly opening the door in hopes of seeing Mala on the other side. "Finally, where have you been? You-" Drago stopped mid-sentence when he saw an old woman in front of him holding a small measuring cup.

"Oh, Mala that's not you, is it dear? My eyesight's just not what it used to be," she said.

"Uh… no," Drago answered.

"Are you a friend of Mala's?" she asked, her voice weak and frail.

"Yes."

"Is Mala here? I was hoping to borrow a cup of sugar for a batch of chocolate chip cookies I was making."

"No, she's not."

"Oh? That's odd. She's usually back from work by now. I wonder what's keeping her. I'll just wait until she comes back," the old woman said, turning away.

"Wait, um, where does she work?" Drago asked.

"Oh at this small jewelry store just a few blocks east. They have some very nice things, but it's a bit too pricy for an old gal like me."

Drago turned back to the Ice Crew. "Boys, it's time to go shopping." They followed the old woman's directions and found the jewelry store she was talking about. The street was closed off with police tape, the road torn up and glass windows along the buildings were shattered.

"Whoa, big party went down here, eh?" Ice said, commenting on the destroyed street.

Drago walked into the jewelry store and was met with a high-pitched yelp as he saw a man jump behind the counter. "You Patrick?" he asked, jumping over the counter and roughly seizing the man's jacket in his claws.

"Ah! Y-yes," he whimpered.

"Where's Mala?"

"S-some men in black came looking for her, th-then she t-turned into th-that monster!"

"Men in black huh? You're gonna have to be a little more specific," Drago said, releasing Patrick's jacket from one of his hands and forming a fireball in it.

"Uh, uh the man in charge, h-he was bald and I-I think he said his name was Black!"

"Captain Black," Drago muttered.

"Y-yes! That's it!" Patrick roughly fell back as Drago released him.

"Section 13…" Drago spat, narrowing his eyes in a vicious glare.

* * *

"Do you think she really is a half-demon? I mean, it's not like that's possible, is it? Ow!" Jackie cried out as Uncle struck him on the forehead.

"Of course it is possible! Demon-human hybrids are not unheard of!" Uncle declared.

"They aren't?" Jackie asked.

"What about who she said her mother was? Lang Yan? Is that something you can check out and confirm?" Black asked.

"Hmm… I will check my books," Uncle said, leaving the two and returning with his large book that detailed legends of the Demon Sorcerers. "According to Uncle's books, Lang Yan is the Demon Sorceress of Crystal. She could control crystal, change into a wolf and see the future with her crystal ball. But books do not say too much on Lang Yan," said Uncle.

"Why don't you let me in there? I'll get a confession out of demon girl, no problem!" Jade arrogantly declared.

"Jade, we are not putting you in an interrogation with a demon!" protested Jackie.

"Ah come on Jackie! I can take care of myself!" Suddenly a large alarm rang through Section 13 as red lights flashed brightly.

"It's a security breach! We're under attack!" shouted Black.

Mala jumped out of her seat when she heard the alarm blaring. "What's going on?" she said out loud. The window and wall suddenly exploded and Mala held up her arms to shield herself from the blast.

"Hi there," Drago chirped.

"Drago!" Mala jumped towards Drago and hugged him tightly.

"You can be happy to see me later. Right now, we have to get out of here!" They made their way back into Section 13's main atrium, where the Ice Crew were engaging Section 13's agents. "Time to go boys!" Drago shouted before turning to Mala, "We came in from up there, lay down some suppressive fire while we get back up there."

"Ok," she replied, turning into her demon form. She fly up high above the atrium and waved her arms causing crystal shards to rain down. The agents ran for cover to evade the falling crystals.

"They're escaping!" shouted Black, entering the atrium with the Chans. "Wh-where's Tom? He was supposed to be manning the Sonic Cannon!" Black shouted, running over to the Sonic Cannon. He accessed the panel and pointed the cannon towards Mala. "You might want to cover your ears!" he warned.

The Sonic Cannon fired, the blast striking Mala dead on. Like before, her crystals shattered and her crystal armor and skin cracked and broke off into fragments. Her pained shrieks quickly caught Drago's attention.

"Mala!" he cried as she slammed into the wall. Once the cannon's fire subsided, she fell out from the crater in the wall and roughly landed on the metal walkway. Drago angrily turned towards Captain Black and the Sonic Cannon. "You're gonna pay for that! I want that thing out of commission!" he ordered.

"Yo, you got it D-man!" acknowledged Ice. The Ice Crew laid a heavy assault on the Sonic Cannon with fireball. Black took cover away from the machine as it caught fire and exploded, pieces of the machine scattering across the atrium.

"All right dawg, let's bounce!" declared Cobra. Drago lifted Mala into his arms as he and the Ice Crew retreated through the hole they entered from.

* * *

"Is that everything?" Drago asked.

"Yeah dawg. We got all the stuff from her crib," Ice replied, dropping a large bag of clothes while Cobra and Fist put down the several boxes they were carrying.

"Man, how much stuff does one girl need?" Cobra whined.

"Just leave her things here."

"Yo, so is the pretty little gem gonna be crashing with us?" Ice asked.

"Sweet man! We got a girl livin' with us!" Cobra exclaimed.

"She's off limits!" Drago roared. He turned away from the three and made his way over to a beat up red convertible. Mala sat in the back seat with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, which were pulled into her chest. "Hey," he said, slipping into the back seat next to her, "You ok?"

"No, I'm not. After my dad died, I've been trying for years to have a normal life, with a normal job and normal friends and in the span of a few hours it's all gone. I can't go back to work, Patrick thinks I'm a monster and I can't stay at my apartment. My life is ruined!" she sobbed.

"I-it's not all bad, is it?" Drago asked, unsure of what to say to console her.

Mala turned her teary face to Drago. "You don't get it do you? Everything I wanted and worked hard for is gone and I can't get it back! Ever! They know who I am now; they know what I am now and they won't leave me alone now! I was so scared. When I woke up in a place I didn't recognize with people I didn't know, I just didn't know what to do. What that weapon of theirs did to me… it was horrible. It was like my skin was peeling off and I was being broke into a hundred little pieces. I didn't fight back because I was terrified they'd use it on me again. I was scared that you wouldn't be able to find me," she muttered, fiddling with her fingers.

"Mala, I wouldn't rest until I found you. You're my best friend and I'd never leave you behind," he said in a serious tone. Their eyes locked for a moment, neither pulling their gaze away from the other as time slowed to a halt around them. Drago slowly leaned forward, his face moving closer to hers inch by inch.

"Drago?" Mala whispered as Drago halted his advance.

"Yeah?" he whispered also.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What is it?"

"How exactly do you plan on creating a new world with the Demon Chi? I just don't get how it's supposed to work."

"Oh…" Drago sighed, disappointed as he pulled away and straightened his back. "Well, uh, each of the Demon Chi of my aunts and uncles make up an aspect of a functioning world. Earth and mountain make up the land, water makes up the ocean, sky and wind will form the atmosphere, thunder will give rise to the weather patterns and moon will establish the pull of gravity. It's all the fundamental elements needed to ," he explained.

"Ah, I see. That actually makes a lot of sense; I don't know why I didn't see that before." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Mala spoke up again. "Go ahead."

"Huh?"

"Go ahead and say 'I told you so!' I didn't want to believe you at first because I was just so desperate to live my life out of her shadow. But you were right; humans will never accept us," she confessed.

"Any other day I would be rubbing it in your face how I was right, but I think the magic is gone."

"Drago, I admit that I had some doubts about helping you."

"You did?"

"Yes. I wasn't sure if I'd accept your offer. And even after I did, I still doubted you a bit and I even doubted myself. I can't keep trying to deny that I'm a half-demon so maybe it's time I started accepting that part of me." She paused and took in a deep breath. "Drago, I want you to know that I don't have any doubts now, in you or me. I'm in 100%," she said, her eyes locked with his in a determinative gaze. "Let's make a world for half-demons."

"Good to hear," Drago grinned. "It's only going to get more difficult from here on. There's only a few Demon Chi left scattered and the Chans have the rest."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly eager to get back to Section 13," Mala said.

"Yeah, well we'll focus on the Chi that we have a better chance of getting and deal with Section 13's containment unit later."

"So, since I'm out of a place to live, you wouldn't happen to know of anywhere where I can crash, would you?" she asked, cracking a sly smile.

"Oh I know a place, but it's right next to the old junkyard so it stinks most of the time," he replied with an equally sly smile.

"Well I can't exactly afford to be picky, can I?"

"I think we can make some room for you."

* * *

**Sorry if it was kinda short, but I kinda consider this story to be more of a side project plus I'm keeping the actual context of JCA in mind as I write this.**

**Next chapter might be whatever Demon Chi is next, Sky Demon I think, or something original. Haven't decided yet. lol**

**Cheers!**


	6. Personal Space

**I had been looking forward to doing this chapter for a while; it's a mix of some of my own stuff and some of episode 5 (I think - whichever one is the Sky Demon Chi episode). **

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala, Lang Yan and other OCs.**

* * *

"So is there somewhere here I can set my stuff up? Preferably not a pile of trash, which, as I say this out loud, might be too much to ask for…" Mala mumbled, glancing back and forth at the mountains of trash that made up the entire junkyard.

"Yo, it's not so bad. If you're lucky, you can find a real nice soft spot to just, hmph, get comfy in," Ice said as he snuggled into a spot on top of a smaller pile.

"Oh god! I think I saw something move! It looked like a spider, was it a spider?" she squealed frantically.

"Mala, you're a half-demon who can conjure up razor sharp crystals from thin air. As long as I've known you, the only thing that's every taken you down is a sound wave gun. What do you honestly have to fear from a tiny insect?" Drago sneered.

"First, they are technically arachnids. Second, they're small, fuzzy, have the uncanny ability to disappear the second I look away," Mala responded, counting off her fingers. "And third… shut up! Ugh, all right I'm going to go practice some of my crystal magic. Don't touch my stuff," she said, specifically addressing the Ice Crew as she walked off to another part of the junkyard.

"Pff, what's her problem?" Drago muttered as he angrily kicked the dirt.

"Yo D-man, don't you know anything about the ladies? They need their own space; they dig all that privacy and stuff," Ice explained.

"Yeah and I don't think she likes having to live in this dump." Drago's eyes narrowed at Cobra as he let out a low growl. "Uh, not that we don't love it! I just don't think it's the kind of place for a chick to crash, you know?" Cobra frantically added.

"Hm, what about the old administration building? It's small but it's a bit away from the trash. You think that would be an okay place for Mala?" Drago asked.

"Well, it's set up to be more of an office, but if we move things around, we could turn it into something livable," Cobra answered.

"Good, get to work on that. Make it… nice or whatever girls like."

"Well what does she like?" asked Ice.

"I… uh…"

"Hehe, you don't know? I thought she was supposed to be your best friend or something. Do you even know anything about her?" asked Cobra. Drago snarled and chucked a fireball at him. "Whoa! Um, nevermind dawg!"

Drago stormed off, leaving the three stooges to play in the trash and went off to look for Mala. Was Cobra right? Did he not know Mala like he thought? They were very close when they were kids but that was a long time ago and he has been so entirely focused on getting the Demon Chi that maybe he had been neglecting her. Did he even know her favorite color? Her favorite animal? Her favorite food? Drago shook his head in shame when he realized that he didn't know the answer to any of those questions. He found her behind a large pile of trash floating in her crystal form. She was waving her arms as crystal spikes pierced through the ground and floated around her.

"So what are you trying to do?" Drago asked.

"Just practicing. I haven't used my powers much since dad died so I'm out of practice. It's probably why we haven't gotten our hands on a Demon Chi yet," she answered.

"Yeah probably. You haven't exactly been pulling a lot of weight in our battles with the Chans," he chastised.

Mala grunted in frustration and angrily turned to face Drago. "Gee, thanks Drago! At least I can always count on you for positive reinforcement!" she sighed irritably before turning back to her crystals.

"What did I say?" he asked, certain that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Just… forget it, Drago." Mala ignored Drago's presence for a couple minutes before lowering her arms. "Drago?"

"What?" he snapped.

"H-have you ever had dreams about… about your father?"

"That old gecko? Pfft, I've got better things to do with my time than dream about that pathetic excuse for a Demon Sorcerer. Why do you ask?"

"Well, that day when Section 13 captured me, the night before I had a dream, a dream about **her**."

"Lang Yan?" Drago asked.

"Yes," Mala responded, turning to face Drago as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "We were in the Demon Netherworld, I think, and she showed me the memory of when the other Demon Sorcerers exiled her."

"What else happened? Did she say anything to you?" Drago asked, knowing there was more to the story.

"After the memory was over, she started talking to me. She said I was just like her and that I shouldn't trust…" she hesitated.

"Shouldn't trust who?" he pressed.

"You." Drago was taken aback, but only slightly and cast his eyes to the ground. Deep down, he knew Lang Yan was right, but the question burning in his mind was whether Mala would believe her. "It's stupid really: a demon telling me that I shouldn't trust demons? It's rather contradictory, don't you think?" Mala saw Drago's slightly shamed expression and gently touched his shoulder. "Drago? You know I trust you right? I mean, you broke into Section 13 to rescue me. You haven't given me any reason not to trust you and you're my best friend," she said, trailing her hand down to his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Drago looked up when he felt her hand in his and locked his eyes with her bright red ones. They were as red as any other demon's, but hers were different. He saw no "evil glint" in her eyes like he did in other demons. But then again, Mala was no ordinary demon. "Yeah, I know," he finally answered with a dry throat. He coughed to clear his throat before continuing, "but that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Mala sighed sadly, "No. I mean, did I dream her up? Was it all just part of my imagination? And if it was, does that mean that I subconsciously want to be like her? Or did she find some way to sneak into my head? T-they can't do that, can they: come into minds when we're sleeping?" she asked, a look of fear spread across her face.

"I know Shen Du can. He has the power of astral projection and he can enter the dreams of sleeping people. But I don't know if Lang Yan can do it…" Drago immediately regretted that blatant honesty and wished he said something like "No, I'm sure they can't do that," when he saw the look on Mala's face. She was terrified, to put it lightly.

"Just… the thought of her being able to do that, being able to come into my mind and… lecture me, torment me like that. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep because I'm just so afraid that when I close my eyes, I'll see her again!"

Drago quickly took Mala's shoulders in his hands and sharply turned her to face him. "Then get stronger," he simply said.

"Huh?"

"Don't let her in. It's your mind and you get to decide who comes in. Train your powers and get stronger," he repeated, "Isn't that what you're doing now?"

He could feel Mala start to calm down as she took a relaxing breath. "You're right. I need to train so I can become strong. I won't let her manipulate me."

"Good. Hey, do you remember what happened when we were kids and I accidentally set one of your crystals on fire?" Drago casually asked, walking backwards towards one of her crystals.

"Yes, wait Drago what are you planning?" But before Mala could finish her sentence, Drago already launched a fireball at the crystal. It struck the crystal dead-on and the crystal suddenly began sparking. Blue electricity radiated from the crystal before it jumped forward and shot a hole right through a mountain of trash. Drago and Mala stared wide-eyed at the hole as the garbage collapsed and the crystal's sparks dissipated.

"Whoa…" Mala muttered.

"Yeah… whoa," agreed Drago.

"I remember my crystals sparking but I don't remember it doing… that!"

"Well your crystals and my fire were a lot smaller when we were kids," he added.

"Do that again," Mala ordered.

"What?"

"Do it again!" she repeated. Drago rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders before chucking another fireball at the same crystal. Again it sparked and again a beam of blue electricity shot forth. Just as it was about to collide with the same trash pile, Mala waved her arms and a crystal materialized, floating in front of the trash, redirecting the beam in another direction as it struck another trash pile.

"How did you do that?" Drago asked.

"I cann absorb and redirect energy through the crystal because of its atomic structure. I'm no science expert, but my best guess is that the heat from your fire on my crystals generates the electricity. I may not be able to control it directly, but I can lay down a path for it to go."

"Then it looks like we're gonna need to spend some time to practice," he grinned. Drago's eyes suddenly widened as he entered a trance.

"Drago, was that another Demon Chi?" Mala asked when he came out of it.

"Yeah, the Sky Demon Chi. It's in Australia."

"Australia? Ok, I could do a trip to that island and the road trip to San Diego, but I am not flying us all across the Pacific Ocean to Australia," Mala said adamantly.

"Then it'll just have to be us. Besides, I've got the three stooges working on something for me."

* * *

"Calm down," she urged as Drago paced back and forth, flames spewing from his lips.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I was this close to getting the Sky Demon Chi and the Chans got away with it AGAIN!"

"You don't sound calm."

Drago glared at Mala before closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. "There, I'm calm," he forced.

"Really?" Drago didn't answer and simply let out a menacing roar and a stream of fire straight into the sky. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Drago suddenly froze in place, his eyes going wide and unfocused. "The Sky Demon Chi… We're back in business! Let's go!"

"Oh no, no no no no no! I am not going in there!" Mala protested as they came up to a dark, decrepit manor sitting atop a cliff over the ocean with a rather questionable foundation and structural integrity.

"What? Don't tell me you're afraid of creepy mansions too?" Drago asked, crossing his arms.

"Of course not! Don't be silly!" she argued. "It's what's inside them that scares me."

"Hold on, are you telling me that you're still scared of ghosts? I thought you would have at least outgrown that!"

"Oh, like how you've outgrown your aquaphobia?"

"Hey, it's not a phobia! I dislike water because I can't use my Fire Demon Chi!" he retorted. "And how can you still be afraid of ghosts? You're a half-demon, Mala. You can make crystals from nothing and make it rain crystal shrapnel! What could a ghost possibly do to you?"

"I don't know what they could do to me! That's what makes them so frightening!"

"I don't have time to deal with you silly fear of ghosts! We are getting that Sky Demon Chi even if I have to drag you in there!"

"Ugh, fine!" Mala huffed, following him into the manor. "Who in their right mind would plan a school field trip here?" she asked out loud, noticing the yellow school bus. They entered the manor as the wooden floorboards creaked with every step. She suddenly heard a _whoosh_ ring through the air as the cobweb filled chandelier slowly rocked back and forth. "Ok, I'm sure I heard something just now!"

"Would you stop it?" Drago snapped in annoyance. "The Chi's here somewhere. Let's split up."

"Split up? As in go in different directions?"

"Unless the meaning of the phrase 'split up' has changed in the last five seconds, yes," Drago replied. "You search the lower levels and I'll head up stairs." Drago leapt up the stairs, ignoring any kind of protest Mala could have formulated.

"Ok, there's nothing to be afraid of. Ghosts can't hurt me," she repeated, as she nervously snapped her head back and forth. All of a sudden, cabinet doors and drawers opened and closed randomly as the windows sprang open and a powerful gust of wind swept through the mansion. "Ah! I was wrong! There is a lot to be afraid of!" she wailed, changing into her demon form as she raced down the hall, dodging the drawers that flew out from the furniture and crashed into the walls. She leapt out one of the windows and flew out, hovering just over the manor. "'Search the lower levels'… Yeah right."

Suddenly, Mala heard a high-pitched shriek echo through the sky. She flew alongside the manor, scanning the interior through the window looking for any sign of Drago. She finally caught sight of him in a large ballroom grappling a dark, winged creature. She burst through the window just as the creature knocked Drago of it with its wings and flew up to the support beams for safety.

"About time! The old hag's got the Sky Demon Chi!" Drago shouted, pointing at the winged beast.

"I'm on it!" Mala flew up to the woman and as she got closer, she could see the demon traits of Hsi Wu over her red hair, large glasses, dress and wool sweater. Mala chased her across the upper canopy of the ballroom. When they finally collided, they struggled and fought in mid-air, each one slamming the other into the wall trying to gain the upper hand. Drago breathed out a stream of fire into the sky as the wooden ceiling and beams caught on fire. "Hey, watch where you're aiming that!"

"Leave her alone!" Mala turned and saw Jackie Chan with his niece by the large doors.

"Back off, Chan," Drago warned them. He unleashed a stream of fire towards them but they evaded the blast by rolling to the side. The Sky Demon Chi imbued teacher suddenly swooped down and tightly wrapped her claws around Jade's arms as the girl struggled in her grip and screamed for her uncle. "After her!" Drago ordered as Mala took off after them.

She tailed them as closely as she could, but the Sky Demon Chi was living up to its name as its host easily flew ahead of her. Mala shot a few crystal shards at them, trying to slow them down, but the teacher easily avoided the incoming shrapnel. She followed them into a large, square shaped room with a door on each wall but saw no sign of them.

"Ok… which way did they go?" Mala asked out loud. She moved to the door on her left and opened it, only to find a brick wall. "What the?" She moved to the door opposite to the one she came in and opened it, only to find another brick wall. "Wha? No…" she muttered in a sudden realization. She quickly checked the last door before going back to the door she came in through and, to her horror, discovered it was replaced with a brick wall too. All of a sudden, the walls started closing in on her, literally. "This is why I hate ghosts!" she wailed. Just as the walls nearly crushed her, she waved her arms and encased herself in a giant crystal as protruding shards ripped through the wooden walls. Her crystals shot forward and ripped through the walls until she could see outside and dashed out. She hovered over the manor again, holding her hand over her chest as she caught her breath. She flew around the manor looking for any sign of Drago again and saw the fireplace in the highest room explode.

Mala burst in through the window and tackled the teacher as she dove towards Drago. They crashed into the ground as Drago was knocked off the large pile of junk that stood in the middle of the room. Suddenly, the armored suits standing against the wall sprang forth with life and advanced on them. Mala focused on the suit with two swords moving towards her and was too late to notice the teacher fly off and engage in battle with Drago. Mala's pink claws extended as the suit of armor charged towards her. She blocked the attack and slashed the suit causing it to fall to pieces.

"Class dismissed!" Mala looked up just in time to see the teacher ram Drago out the balcony doors. He crashed through the weak wooden railing and plummeted into the ocean below. She wasted no time in shooting out into the rain and diving into the water. Mala scanned the dark, swirling ocean and finally spotted Drago flailing about like an uncoordinated one-legged chicken. She wrapped her arms around his chest and used her tail to push them out of the water as her wings carried them back to the mainland.

When they finally got back to San Francisco, Drago angrily squeezed the last bits of water from his jacket. "I hate water…" he muttered.

"You seemed pretty ok with it when you had Bai Tza's Chi."

"You keep making that joke, but it doesn't get any funnier," he retorted.

"Look Drago, I'm sorry we didn't get the Sky Demon Chi. It's stupid that I was scared of ghosts and I should have been more focused. It's my fault we didn't get the Chi," she lamented.

"It's not entirely your fault," he said after a moment of silence. "For a human, that schoolteacher really knew what she was doing with the Sky Demon Chi."

"I know you, Drago so I know you probably don't mean that, but thanks," she smiled. As she walked off, Drago caught sight of his henchmen lying on a pile of trash. He shot a glare over to them, which Ice replied with a thumbs-up. "Hey, where's all my stuff?"

"Oh, right. Come with me, I've got something to show you," he said, waving for her to follow him. "This is the old administration building for the junkyard. Nobody's been in it since the place was abandoned." He opened the door and held it open for her to walk in.

When Mala stepped inside the small admin building, she saw that the interior had been rearranged and almost looked like her apartment, albeit a much more rundown version. A large dresser stood in the corner; the wood was splintered and old but it looked like someone tried their best to restore it. An office desk and chair sat in the adjacent corner in a similar condition as the dresser. She lightly ran her fingers along the beaten up marble countertop that made up a little kitchen before strolling over to and inspecting the large bed. She lightly pat the top of the bed and was surprised to see that unlike everything else in the room, it was in much better condition. Almost brand new…

"Should I ask where the bed came from?"

"Let's just say that a furniture store was having a sale," he replied, as Mala lightly sighed in annoyance. "Listen, I know a junkyard isn't exactly the ideal place to live but I'm told that girls like their privacy and this was the best we could do."

"You did all this for me?" she asked, almost unable to believe it.

Drago nodded, "Yeah, I had the stooges set it up for you while we were away. I know it's not as nice as your apartment, but it's the best we could-" Drago was suddenly cut off when Mala suddenly hugged him tightly. "Uh… Mala?"

"Thank you," she whispered. "I know it would have been easy to just take this and use it for yourself, so I really appreciate you doing this for me." Drago didn't say anything in response and instead simply wrapped his large arms around her small, human frame. Neither was sure how long they stayed that way, but they didn't seem to care. In that moment – short or long – it almost felt like they were kids again, when they didn't have to worry about things like hunting Demon Chi or living in junkyards.

"Aw sweet, group hug!" Ice cheered, coming into the building. He moved towards the two with his arms open, ready to hug Mala as well. But Drago threw a fireball at Ice, knocking roughly on the ground. "All right, not a group hug. My bad."

* * *

**So at first, Drago didn't really have a good idea of how to be... sensitive. But he's learning :3 And now Mala has a place to sleep that isn't a pile of trash or an old car. And who knows what could happen there, eh? Eh? Ah, well I'm just getting ahead of myself lol**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Cheers!**


	7. Day Off

**Well school's back in session now, so probably won't get a lot of chapters out, but I'll try! Anyway, enjoy!**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala and other OCs.**

* * *

"Uncle, what are you working on?" Jackie asked.

Uncle didn't tear his eyes away from the large book and test tubes in front of him to address him nephew. "Demon Chi extraction spell," he simply replied as if Jackie should have already known before asking.

"Has another Demon Chi been activated? Ow!"

Uncle smacked Jackie on the head. "Of course Demon Chi has not been activated. Do you think Uncle would not tell you if Demon Chi was activated? Uncle is working on different extraction spell."

"What kind of extraction spell?" asked Jackie.

"Tohru, explain."

"Uncle has found the recipes for spells to extract Crystal and Fire Demon Chi. The Crystal Demon Mala is arguably Drago's strongest ally and if we are able to extract her Chi, it should weaken Drago's forces immensely."

"But why not just extract Drago's Chi?"

"Because we do not have ingredient for Fire Demon Chi extraction from a demon like Drago. Fire Chi stuck to him like glue because he inherited it from his father, like crystal girl from demon parent! Uncle has already put in an order for the necessary ingredients, but they will take time to get here. Fortunately, we have ingredients for Crystal Demon Chi extraction spell. Key component is very rare, very difficult to obtain and Uncle has been saving it for years. We will only have one chance at this."

"Well hopefully you can finish preparing that spell before another Demon Chi is activated. Now, I have to take Jade to the carnival. I promised her last week that we would go."

* * *

"Drago."

Drago was laying in the back seat of a rusty and old convertible when he heard Mala's voice calling him. He reluctantly pried his eyes open, letting the sun's bright and blinding rays strike them as he squinted. "Ugh… What?" he asked in annoyance.

"I'm bored," she replied.

"Yeah, so?" he groaned.

"So, there's nothing on TV, there's no wifi and I'm not going to sit around here waiting for you to have a vision of the next Demon Chi. I've already organized my room three times and I am not about to even begin talking about the redundancy of tidying up a junkyard."

"And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?"

"There's a carnival in the park today and I would like to go."

"So go."

"I can't go by myself!" she protested.

"Why not?"

"Well it's no fun going alone and the last time I was by myself, I got ambushed and captured by a demon hunting government faction."

"So take the idiots with you," Dragon muttered, going back to sleep.

"Hey, hey! Don't go back to sleep; I'm still talking!" she yelled, swatting him hard on the head, which earned an annoyed growl from him. "There is no way I'm taking them. They'll ditch me the minute they see the first corndog or churro stand or, you know, something shiny."

"A what and what stand?"

"Which is why I want you to go with me."

"And why would I want to go to some stupid carnival?"

"Well you've been sitting on your scaly, lazy butt for three days straight. You need to get up and do something active."

"Ugh, if I say yes, will you shut up?"

"On this topic? Yes," she smiled.

"Fine, fine, let's go," he said, hauling himself out of the convertible.

"Um, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What now?" he whined.

"I know you're comfortable in your demon skin Drago, but we're going to a carnival to have fun, not scare everyone."

"Too bad, I'm great at scaring people. Remember that time I scared you so bad you wet yourself?" Drago laughed at the memory, but quickly silenced his chuckling when he saw Mala seething with anger and her eyes glowing bright red.

"I told you never to mention that ever again…" she muttered.

"All right, all right, I'll never mention it again, starting now!" Drago took a step forward but stopped when Mala held out her hand to stop him. She cocked her eyebrow at him and Dragon sighed in defeat. "Fine…" he grumbled, shifting into his human form. "Ugh, I never thought I'd have to do this again. I feel naked and it's weird not being able to feel my tail." Drago turned to Mala, "Well?"

"Uh…" Mala couldn't find the words to describe what she was thinking and even if those thoughts managed to form, she probably couldn't get the words out. She only remembered Drago's human form from when they were children and some of the features were still the same. His eyes were still red, much like her own – a trait they both inherited from their demon parents – and his hair was black, wild and unkempt. His skin was pale, but nothing like the ghostly white of her own complexion and she could make out the light stubble on his chin and jaw line. She mentally cursed herself for not noticing just how developed Drago's muscles were. Perhaps she wasn't paying attention to the muscles beneath those thick dragon scales of his, but it was hard not to notice them now. When her thoughts formed, she finally founds the words to describe what she was thinking. Drago was attractive, _very attractive_.

"Well?"

Mala shook her head as Drago's voice awoke her from trance. "Uh, well, it's not bad," she stammered, hoping that he didn't notice her speech falter. She quickly turned her face away from his to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"So this is a carnival?" Drago asked, looking at the tents set up throughout the park. "Never been to one of these before."

"Yup, there's food, games and some rides we can go on."

"All right, let's get this over with," he muttered.

"Hey, don't be like that! It'll be fun, trust me!" Mala led him through the carnival, showing him all the rides and games, but for the most part, Drago still didn't seem that interested. "Ok, this you have to try," she said, holding out a sugary brown stick to him.

"What is that?" he asked cautiously.

"It's a churro. Trust me, it's good!" she smiled, urging him to try it. Drago stared at the churro for a few seconds before reluctantly taking a bit. He slowly chewed it before perking up and devouring the rest of the churro. "See?"

"I take back what I said: humans know good food. This is better than anything you can find in the Demon Netherworld," he exclaimed.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," she laughed, "but let's walk around a bit before we go on the spinning teacups. I don't want you throwing up on me."

"Throw up? Please! Demon physiology, never been sick a day in my life!" he boasted proudly. They made their way slowly towards the spinning teacups when Mala suddenly stopped to look at a booth.

"What is it?" Drago asked, stopping with her.

"Oh it's nothing. I just thought that little rabbit doll was cute, that's all."

"So why don't you just get it?" Drago asked.

"Oh, I can never win at those games."

"I'm not surprised. You weren't exactly the best at games when we were kids, but your aim has improved a lot."

"Hey, wait! What do you mean by 'a lot'?"

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Drago asked, walking up to the booth.

"You have to throw the ball and knock the three bottles down in one hit," she explained.

"That's it? Piece of cake!"

"I wouldn't get cocky if I were you. Games like these are always rigged."

Drago threw one of the balls at the bottles with all his might, but only managed to knock two off, leaving one standing completely unfazed. "What? Not possible! I'm sure that hit!"

"I told you, rigged."

"This time for sure!" he muttered to himself. Mala giggled in delight as she watched Drago nearly lose himself desperately trying to win a rigged carnival game. After his sixth failed attempt, she decided to end his suffering.

"Ok, ok, I think that's enough," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the booth

"This isn't over…" he growled.

"I told you those games are rigged so that you waste all your money – well in this case, my money – trying to win a silly prize."

"I was only doing it because you said you liked that rabbit… stupid rabbit," he muttered.

"Well, thanks," she smiled.

"Come on, Jackie! I wanna ride the Egg Scrambler and see if I can puke!"

"Jade, watch where you are going!"

Just then, Mala felt someone run right into her and the force from the impact knocked her on the ground. "Ow… sorry…" muttered the little girl who ran into Mala.

"Well, I didn't know there was gonna be shrimp at this carnival!" Drago said in amusement. Drago immediately shifted back into his demon form and let out a menacing roar and breathed a stream of fire into the sky, frightening all the carnival goers around them as they fled for their lives.

"Bwah, Drago!" Jackie exclaimed as he caught up to Jade.

"Chan! This day just keeps getting better and better!" Drago lunged towards Jackie and the two began exchanging punches and kicks.

"Jade! Call Uncle! We need that Chi spell!"

"Mala, get the shrimp!" Drago ordered.

"Right," she obliged. Mala transformed into her demon form and took off after Jade into the Hall of Mirrors. "Hall of Mirrors, I always hated this attraction," she muttered, entering the tent.

"Can't catch me! I've already called Uncle and the Chi Master is on his way! You can still give up!" Jade chirped, as her reflection was stamped on each and every mirror.

"Ugh, this is why I hate the Hall of Mirrors." Mala angrily punched her fist into one mirror, shattering the glass as crystals formed around her hand and spread across the surface of the shattered mirror. The crystals resonated on her command, emitting a powerful shockwave that shattered the rest of the mirrors and revealing the real Jade.

"Um, I think I'm tired of this ride, why don't we try something else?" Jade chuckled nervously as she bolted towards the exit with Mala in hot pursuit.

Back outside, Jackie roughly kicked Drago into one of the game booths, causing the tent to collapse on top of him. "Uncle, is the Chi spell ready?" Jackie asked in a brief moment of peace as Uncle and Tohru arrived.

"Spell is ready, must have clear shot of Crystal Demon," Uncle replied, holding his blowfish. He aimed the blowfish directly at Mala, who hovered in the air unaware of his movements. As he began chanting, a bright green light emitted from the blowfish struck Mala right in the back.

Mala cried out in pain as she felt the good Chi strike her. Almost immediately she could feel all her strength and energy fading away, being siphoned out of her body by the old man's Chi spell. With what little strength she could muster, she turned to face the direction of her attacker. She struggled to raise her hand, trying to conjure up something to disrupt the spell, but nothing, not even a tiny shard could form from her fingertips. This is what it felt like to have all our strength drained from you. This is what it felt like to be utterly powerless and helpless she realized. All of a sudden, her necklace began glowing a brilliant pink. The light burst out from her necklace, pushing back the green light of the Chi spell with such a strong force that it knocked the old man and Jackie's group roughly onto the ground. The glow surrounding Mala's necklace died down and the jewel within it shattered.

The blowfish flew out of the old man's hand and disintegrated into dust. "Aiya! Uncle's blowfish!" the old man wailed in despair.

"Mala!" Drago cried, catching Mala in his arms jus as she fell from the sky. "You ok?" he asked, setting her on her feet.

"Yeah…" she replied, rubbing her head.

Drago glared at the Chans as they got back on their feet. The urge to send a few fireballs their way was strong, but he suppressed the urge when he looked down at his weakened friend. "We have to get out of here. Think you can give me a hand?" he asked, giving her a subtle wink. Mala smiled at him lightly, knowing what he was hinting at and wearily lifted her arm, conjuring as large a crystal as she could form in front of them. Drago breathed a stream of fire from his mouth and the flames cloaked the crystal as it began sparking with blue electricity. A bright beam of blue electricity shot forth from the crystal as the Chans ran to dodge the attack. "Time to go!" he declared. He heard Mala sigh and felt her body slump against his. He wrapped his right arm tightly around her waist and put her left arm around his neck. Drago leapt away from the battlefield and as he fled the carnival back to the junkyard with Mala in tow, he caught a glance of the booth where he tried and failed to win that stuffed rabbit. The owner of the booth was nowhere to be seen, having likely fled along with all the other carnival goers earlier. He saw the rabbit still there and roughly knocked over the bottles with his tail and seized the rabbit. "Look at that, I won," he grinned, before retreating back to the junkyard.

When they got back, Drago set Mala down on her bed as she rubbed her head. "What was that back there?" he asked.

"Chi extraction spell. I'm guessing Jackie's uncle must have found a Crystal Demon Chi extraction spell," she replied.

"But it didn't work. Why? And what was with the light show coming from your necklace?" he asked, pointing to her necklace.

"My necklace?" Her hand immediately flew to her necklace. She could feel the empty space where the jewel was supposed to sit. She reached back to undo the clasp and held the necklace out in front of her. "The jewel… it's shattered…" she whispered. Before Drago could ask why her necklace shattered, she began to whimper and sniffle quietly while her shoulders shook.

"Uh…" Drago started, unsure of what to do. He awkwardly sat down next to her and lightly pat her shoulder. "There, there," he said hesitantly.

"I'm fine, Drago. I'm not crying because I'm upset; I'm crying because I'm happy."

"I… don't get it…" he said, confused.

"This is why he told me never to take it off."

"Who?"

"My dad," Mala answered.

"Your dad? The Chi Wizard? What does he have to do with your necklace?"

"This necklace was the object he used when he banished Lang Yan. Before he died, he gave it to me and told me never to take it off. I never thought he would have put a Chi spell on it. That's why the old man's spell backfired. My father must have put a counterspell on it in case anyone tried to extract my Crystal Demon Chi."

"It protected you."

"Yes, and I imagine it did a good number on the old man's blowfish."

"It disintegrated," said Dragon.

"That sounds about right," Mala chuckled.

"But it doesn't look like it'd be able to do that again," he said, pointing to the shattered gem.

"No, it was only meant to protect me once. I guess my dad was afraid that someday a Chi Wizard would try to steal my Demon Chi."

"You'll have to be careful then."

"Well, maybe not," Mala said.

"Why not?"

"I know a lot about Chi Wizardry, Drago. My dad taught me everything he knew. I know all the spells and everything you need to prepare them. The Chi spells that the Chans have been using were for extraction of Demon Chi from host objects or temporary living vessels. The kind of Demon Chi extraction spell for demons like us – ones who are born with our Demon Chi – are far more complicated. The ingredients alone are incredibly rare. If I remember correctly, the key ingredient for a Crystal Demon Chi extraction spell comes from an animal that I'm pretty sure is extinct now. Even if there are still samples of that ingredient out there, I doubt the Chans will be getting their hands on it soon. You'd be surprised how much a Chi spell ingredient from an extinct animal can go for," she explained.

"So then we shouldn't have anything to worry about," Drago declared.

"It wouldn't hurt to stay alert though. If the Chans know how to make a Crystal Demon Chi extraction spell, then odds are they'll know how to make a Fire Demon Chi extraction spell."

"Well they're not going to get my Chi!" he declared.

"I'm glad you're confident, just don't be too confident," she cautioned. "It's too bad about the carnival though. I would have liked to go on the ferris wheel."

"Well when this is all over, we can go on as many ferris wheels as you want," Drago said.

"That's sweet of you, Drago," she smiled, "and thanks for coming with me today. I know it probably wasn't much fun for you."

"Here," he said, tossing her the rabbit plushie.

"Wha? Where did you get this?" she asked, catching the white rabbit in her arms.

"Let's just say those bottles and I reached an agreement," he said, whipping his tail.

* * *

**Next chapter: The Earth Demon Chi escapes the custody of the Chans. Meanwhile Drago learns a fundamental detail about girls while Mala discovers a new power.**


	8. Pearl

**So I couldn't wait to get this chapter done because I have a picture coming out that is meant to go with it. Pop over to my deviantART to see what I mean ;) This chapter is a little shorter and takes place during the Larry and Earth Demon Chi episode - honestly, not one of my favorites which is why I decided to kind of skip it. So, this chapter focuses more on Mala discovering something new she can do with crystals thanks to her human half. Enjoy!**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only Mala and other OCs.**

* * *

Drago shot awake in the seat of a junkyard convertible and tightly gripped the steering wheel as a vision filled his sight. A wide grin spread across his face as he jumped out of the car, grabbed a trash can lid and tire iron and banged the two together, waking the slumbering Ice Crew.

"Agh, you dawg, why you gotta wake me up? My dream was off the hook!" Ice groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"We have work to do," Drago declared.

"You feelin' another Demon Chi at this hour?" Cobra whined.

"Yes, so get off your lazy butts and let's go!" Drago went over to the admin building where Mala slept and banged loudly on the door. "Mala! It's Chi hunting time! Get up!" When she didn't answer the first time, he pounded on the door again.

"Go… away…" Mala muttered.

"Come on, Mala," Drago said, opening the door but he quickly shut the door behind him as crystal spikes shot through the door.

"Whoa, looks like it's her time of the month," Ice commented.

"Time of the month?" Drago asked, cocking his eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah, you know. The ladies get real temperamental and get serious cravings," Cobra laughed. When Drago didn't respond, Cobra leaned over to Ice and whispered, "Yo, I don't think he knows."

"Dude, didn't they ever teach you sex ed.?" Ice asked.

"If someone doesn't start explaining…" Drago raged.

"Whoa, cool your jets D-man. Pretty little gem's just moody because her Aunt Flow's in town. It happens with all the ladies," explained Ice. "You see, once a month they…"

"What?" Drago exclaimed as Ice whispered into his ear. "That's disgusting!" Drago was utterly appalled as Ice continued the explanation. "And that happens once a month? For a whole week? Does it ever stop?"

"Nah dude, it never stops," said Ice, putting a consoling hand on Drago's shoulder.

"Girls act differently when it's their time of the month, but most of the time they're mean and very scary. I had this one ex throw a hammer at me. She was crazy," said Cobra.

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's true, she really threw a hammer at me! I had to go to the hospital and everything!"

"No, I find it hard to believe that you had a girlfriend," Drago remarked.

"Oh burn, dude!" Ice laughed as Fist snickered behind them. "But it's probably best we leave her behind. The last thing you want to do is piss her off."

Drago turned around and lightly tapped the crystal shards that pierced through the door. "Yeah… I can't believe I'm saying this but that sounds like a good idea."

When morning finally rolled around, Mala groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She could faintly feel the cramp in her abdomen that she tried to drown with ibuprofen. She saw the crystal spikes embedded into the door and remembered what she did when Drago tried to wake her up in the middle of the night to go after another Demon Chi. She made a mental note to apologize to him later when he got back. With what little energy she could muster, she got dressed and trudged over to the coffee shop across the street and ordered a hot tea to go. When she got back to the admin building, she curled up into a ball on the couch, holding her tea in both hands. After a few sips, she could feel the warm tea already soothing her pained abdomen. She always hated this time of the month and certainly didn't want Drago to see her in this state.

Just as she was about to take another sip, she heard something rattle. She looked up and saw a bottle on the table shaking as if something had just zoomed past it. She got up and set her tea down and walked over to the bottle, placing her hand on it to settle its movement.

"Hello? Is someone here?" She heard something whiz by her again as her head frantically shot back and forth, trying to catch sight of what was in the building. Out of instinct, she crystallized her right forearm as the two bright pink claws extended. She finally caught sight of something: a moving lump under her blanket.

"Oh god… please don't be a rat…" She slowly reached over to the blanket while leaning away from the bed as best as she could. Just as she felt the fabric of the blankets between her fingers, she whipped the blanket off the bed to reveal the intruder. "What the…" Mala's words trailed off into nothing as she cocked her head to the side and her arm returned to normal. Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes narrowed in confusion at what she saw casually sitting on her bed. A light pink, shiny rabbit with bright red eyes like her own when in demon form. The rabbit didn't seem to notice her and casually jumped across the bed.

Mala plopped onto her couch, still staring wide-eyed at the rabbit with her jaw open. She could see the sheen coming off the rabbit. It wasn't a normal rabbit; it was a rabbit made out of crystal. Mala looked down at her hands, "Did I… make you?"

The rabbit suddenly turned and faced Mala, causing her to slightly jump back. "How is this possible?" she asked herself, inching closer to the rabbit and resting her arms on the bed.

"Ok, let's recap here. I wake up and you – whatever you are – are on my bed… made of crystal, which means I must have made you. Now I'm pretty sure I'm not a sleepwalker so how did **this** happen?" she asked, gesturing to the rabbit. "Was I dreaming about rabbits?" She looked over to the rabbit doll Drago had gotten for her after their 'day' at the carnival and began recalling some details of her dream: she was a kid with her dad and they were at a petting zoo playing with rabbits. When they got home, she drew a picture of the rabbits and her dad pinned it on the fridge. Mala smiled as the warm thoughts filled her head. She turned her attention back to the rabbit. "Ok, I don't know where you came from, but I must have made you. The only question is how did I make you?"

The rabbit hopped over to her and stood on its hind legs, holding out its shiny pink paw at her face. Mala reached out and touched the paw, feeling the cool crystal against her skin. "Maybe I should give you a name. What do you think about 'Pearl'?"

The rabbit's head perked up to her and its ears twitched in response. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, Pearl, let's see if I can't do what I did with you again!" Mala exclaimed. She jumped up and ran out the admin building with Pearl hopping closely behind.

Mala closed her palms as she felt crystals form between them. When she parted her hands, a small crystal bird sat in her palms. "All right, now… how do I get it to move? Any suggestions?" she asked, turning to Pearl, who simply responded by twitching its ear. "Well, you're no help at all." She spent nearly an hour just staring at the little crystal bird thinking, '_move, move, move_' over and over again, hoping that the sheer force of her willpower would be able to compel the crystal to move on its own.

"Ugh, this isn't working! How did this even happen? I didn't think demons could even make constructs that move on their own! Wait a minute…" Mala suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence and recalled her encounter with her mother. "'Passion, resourcefulness, and tenacity,' that's what my moth- Lang Yan said. Do you think that has anything to do with it?" she asked Pearl. "Right, you don't talk…"

Mala retired back to the admin building with Pearl still behind her and the crystal bird in her hands. She set the crystal bird aside on a table and collapsed on the couch. "Is it because I'm on my period? Is that why you showed up? Are you a period bunny or something? No, that's stupid." Mala scooped Pearl up in her hands and held the crystal rabbit in front of her. "I'm certain I made you somehow. It can't be just a coincidence that I dreamt about rabbits and a crystal rabbit is in my room the next morning. Well, I guess this is gonna take some work to figure out, huh?"

Later that evening, Drago and the Ice Crew finally returned from their Chi hunt. "You three are pathetic! You couldn't even get the Earth Demon Chi from a pathetic comic book geek!"

"Sorry D-man, we'll try harder next time," said Ice.

"That's not gonna be good enough-" Drago suddenly stopped when he felt something land on his head. "What… is that?"

"Yo, that's a rabbit, dude," said Cobra, pointing at the pink rabbit casually sitting on Drago's head.

"Sorry, sorry! That's mine!" Mala came in, reaching up and taking Pearl off Drago's head.

"Mala, what is that?" Drago asked.

"Oh, yes. It's a rabbit, made out of crystal obviously," she chuckled nervously.

"I meant what is it doing here?"

"Well, apparently I can make crystal constructs that move on their own," she answered casually.

"That's not possible, Mala. Demons can't make living constructs," he said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah I know, they don't have the ability or creativity to mold and shape something into life, but maybe because we're half human, we can. In that dream I had where I was talking to Lang Yan and she showed me that memory of her exile, she said something about how humans are creative and passionate, qualities that demons don't have. What if that has something to do with it? I had a dream about rabbits and I wake up to find a crystal rabbit moving around on its own! It had to be me! I have to figure out how to do this again, Drago!"

"Mala, we don't have time to focus on some silly thing you can do!"

"It's not silly!" she protested.

"Whoa D-man, might wanna cool your jets. The ladies are very sensitive when it's their time of the month," said Ice.

"Excuse me?" Mala turned to Ice. "What did you say about my time of month?"

"Uh, well I uh…" Ice stuttered.

All of a sudden, Pearl jumped out of Mala's arms and suddenly stood on its hind legs and grew nearly as tall as Drago. Pearl grabbed Ice by the collar of his shirt and flung him across the junkyard.

"Did you know the rabbit could do that?" Drago asked.

"No. I'm still trying to figure this all out," Mala answered slowly, her jaw dropped while staring wide-eyed at Pearl.

"Good, keep doing that," he said, lightly patting her shoulder in approval.

* * *

**So, Mala's got a new power: sentient crystal constructs. The idea behind this is that demons can make constructs (like tools, appendages, walls, etc.) out of their element (ie crystal, fire, earth, etc.). Essentially, they can make non-living and non-thinking constructs like barriers, weapons and so on. Full demons, like say Lang Yan, Mala's mother, cannot make a sentient construct because she lacks the qualities that humans have: imagination, creativity and passion. Because Mala possesses those qualities due to her mixed heritage, she can put them to use to give life to her constructs. **

**Anyway, Pearl will be acting as Mala's official "sidekick" and companion. Hope you guys liked the chapter and Pearl.**

**Next chapter: Drago's hunt for the Demon Chi continues with Tchang Zu's while Mala trains her ability to create sentient crystal constructs. **


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